There are some things in life that make you shake your head in bafflement. Like why isn’t Idris Elba the new James Bond, or why are dads apparently happier being parents than mums?
Last month, a report was published by a US university that looked at three studies about parenting and its impact. The report covers more than 18,000 participants and suggests that parenthood is hugely beneficial to men in terms of overall wellbeing, and that dads are happier than non-dads. I’m pleased for dads, I really am. If I was a cheerleader I would develop a “GO DADS” chant to encourage male parents.
The only problem is that the data shows that motherhood is associated with lower levels of positive emotion and more stress. Yes, you read that right. Mums go through pregnancy, childbirth, nursing and sleepless nights, and dads are the ones who get to be happy. What's that all about? Why aren't we the ones getting the pay-off?
And here’s the kicker – the University of South Sewanee’s study suggests that this is all because dads spend more time playing with their children than mums.
For plenty of mums, there's very little time in the schedule to consider matters of personal happiness. We're too busy bringing up small people. Earlier this year, a longitudinal study of 6,025 UK households found that women who work full time and have children are 18 per cent more stressed than their female counterparts who don't. That rises to 40 per cent for those with two children. As a mum of two kids, tell me something I don't already know.
Dear dads, I’m just wondering if you could share some of that happiness around? One of the key things that parents try to drum into children – you know, when they are screaming over toys, or fighting over the last chocolate bar – is that sharing is caring. Sharing the workload will make for cheerier mums.
As I'm writing this, I am already aware of the two major problems of women publicly sharing their experiences of parenting. People tend to think that it is a cry for help. It's not. You don't need to send me personal messages of support, or coupons for therapy. (Although please do feel free to send vouchers for spa days and relaxing getaways.)
This is not about me, but about trends in society as a whole. The broad range and consistency of studies about motherhood, stress and workload bear this out repeatedly.
The other thing that happens when women write about parenting is that their words are considered to be for female consumption only. They're not. This has to be a conversation between men and women.
Then there are the voices that say, “But childcare isn’t a burden!” Looking after children is a joy. Being the person who gets to shape young lives is the greatest privilege. Yes, all of this is true. As a mum, I can attest to that. Kids are a joy, and here’s the “but” – all of these statements are equally true for whoever is parenting.
If these truisms of child-rearing were applied in the context of shared parenting, then I’d be all for them. The problem is that they are too often used in judgement, to make women feel guilty for saying that they are having a hard time or to justify why we should be happy to take more than our share of responsibility for children. The end goal of these comments isn’t to praise women, or even the experience of parenting.
The other option, of course, is that many dads simply haven't thought about the fact that mothers do a disproportionate share of the childcare, the physical work and the mental planning and worry that comes with organising small people's lives and nurturing them into well-rounded, healthy human beings. If that's the case, I'm suppressing my instinct to run into a forest and scream at the top of my lungs.
Maybe the clear picture of parenting provided by these studies can finally make people see the truth of the situation. It’s time dads shared the workload and, therefore, the happiness. Don’t mums deserve that, at least?
Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World
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Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.