New MAD Leaders Podcast: senior dads must be more visible to change culture

By Suzy Bashford, Editor, Make A Difference Media
11 May 2026

In this latest podcast we discuss how to create workplace cultures that are genuinely ‘family friendly’, with masculinity advocate Elliott Rae, Founder of Parenting Out Loud, Equal Parenting Week and Working Dads’ Summit.

As he says, employers need to recognise how fundamental senior leadership behaviour is in influencing change.

It’s no good simply having a ‘family friendly’ policy if employees aren’t making use of it and, particularly with dads, they often need to see senior peers taking paternity leave before they feel empowered to do so themselves.

“It’s really important to pause and reflect that the CEOs, the board and the exec team are critical in shaping how people feel when they go to work,” he says.

You can find the episode here, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:

Rae argues senior leaders strongly shape workplace culture and dads’ willingness to take enhanced paternity leave or work flexibly, and explains how fear of judgement and presenteeism drives concealment of caregiving.

He also stresses the need for good line manager training because “experience is not necessarily shaped by policy but by our line manager, so we need to invest in the capabilities of line managers to lead people properly”.

Rae links equal parenting to reducing the motherhood penalty and gender pay gap, and outlines practical actions employers can take across policy, culture and leadership.

This wide ranging conversation also touches on traditional masculinity, the ‘masculinity crisis’, creating safe spaces for male leaders through storytelling, and proposes societal investments such as shared parental leave, a four-day week, affordable childcare and cost-of-living reforms.