Giving Good Dads Their DueFrederick Douglass was one of many former slaves who used their freedom to marry and raise children. Within days of escaping his bonds, he married the love of his life, Anna Murray, and their first child was born after about a year. At the time, he made a famous remark that showed his insight into a role he would faithfully fill in his children’s lives: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
His words took on special meaning this month as we marked both Father’s Day and Juneteenth, the date in 1865 when all U.S. slaves were freed. This day of liberation would spark the long years of struggle that led to the election of Barack Obama, a Black president and devoted dad. President Obama grew up without a father of his own—and felt that had left a hole in his life. “As the son of a single mom, who gave everything she had to raise me and with the help of my grandparents,” he said, “I turned out okay. But at the same time, I wish I had a father who was around and involved.”
Dads who are involved in their children’s lives do make a difference, especially in the first three years of life. Extensive research has shown that when fathers engage closely with their infants and toddlers, they make a positive impact on the children. For example, a 2006 study showed that 3-year-olds whose fathers play with them score higher on cognitive tests. And a 2014 study showed that toddlers whose fathers read to them as infants often score higher on language assessments than children who are only read to by their moms.
There’s solid proof that fathers have the power to make an impact on young children’s lives. Yet not all dads have gotten the message—even some who you’d expect to know better. In a New York Times interview, Elon Musk was asked how he balances his “insane” work schedule—colonizing Mars, researching AI and mainstreaming electric cars—with caring for his brand-new baby. His response was that he doesn’t. Babies are just eating and sleeping machines, he explained. “Right now, there’s not much I can do.” But Musk was mistaken since dads can do a lot in the early years when brain growth is most rapid.
These are also the preschool years, when early childhood teachers should partner with parents to help children fulfill their promise. And many educators do. Yet they tend to define a child’s family in terms of the mom and prefer to invite just her to join in most parent involvement events. So, early education programs need to take steps to make fathers feel more welcome. They can conduct in-service programs about improving service to dads, survey men with children in the program to find out about their interests and concerns, establish local father support groups, display books that show children and men in a wide range of settings and rethink their policies to reach all parents.
Dads often need resources and guidance to actively engage with their children, so private and public programs are now giving fathers encouragement and support. Saint Jude’s Ranch for Children in Texas is offering a new Fatherhood Initiative that offers dads meaningful chances to get more involved in their children’s lives. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families is sponsoring Focusing the Fatherhood Flame Community Conversations, a new program geared to promote father engagement at the grassroots level. HHS has also joined with the Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse and Ad Council to issue new #Dadificaton PSAs putting the spotlight on four real dads who’ve faced adverse issues like addiction and immigration to be there for their children.
But too many devoted dads remain unsung, unpraised and unnoticed since gender norms haven’t kept up with social change and the rise in working moms. Fathers are still supposed to be the household’s big breadwinners and only serve as backups for children’s care and needs. Fathers who take time off from work to care for their young fear sending a signal to employers that they put family over the job. And fathers who are nurturing sometimes contend with the stereotype that tending to children is women’s work.
The dadification of America still requires men to rise above outdated social norms—and those who do so are special, as President Obama pointed out. “Any fool can have a child,” he said. “That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.” So, this month let’s give the many good dads out there all the credit they are due.
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Janie Payne is the Vice President of People and Culture for the Council for Professional Recognition. Janie is responsible for envisioning, developing, and executing initiatives that strategically manage talent and culture to align people strategies with the overarching business vision of the Council. Janie is responsible for driving organizational excellence through strategic talent practices, orchestrating workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management as well as a myriad of other Human Resources Programs. She is accountable for driving effectiveness by shaping organizational structure for optimal efficiency. Janie oversees strategies that foster a healthy culture to include embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.
In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
Janie began her career with Verizon Communications (formerly Bell Atlantic), where she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, where she directed a diversity program that resulted in significant improvement in diversity profile measures. Janie was also a faculty member for the company’s Black Managers Workshop, a training program designed to provide managers of color with the skills needed to overcome barriers to their success that were encountered because of race. She initiated a company-wide effort to establish team-based systems and structures to impact corporate bottom line results which was recognized by the Department of Labor. Janie was one of the first African American women to be featured on the cover of Human Resources Executive magazine.
Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
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Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
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