Paper Roskilde 08 Session C When Men Become Fathers: Men Doing Identity Transition. Claudia Höfner, Cornelia Schadler, Rudolf Richter Since 1990 in Austria men have the option to take parental leave. In 2007 4% of all men with children took this opportunity. Usually higher wages for males and better chances for a career are quoted as reasons that men cannot use this possibility (Doerfler 2004). As research in other European countries show regardless of the woman's profession, educational status and distribution of housework or attitude to gender roles before giving birth, after the transition to parenthood women are much more likely to take up the caring responsibilities as well as men create an identity as a provider of the family (Lammi- Taskula 2008, Bernhardt/Goldscheider 2001). Even women with higher wages than their partners highly tend to take up the caring responsibilities and also lowering their career opportunities. Simultaneously transition to first time parenthood is the time where men start to work more and get involved more into their own careers (Höfner 2003). At the same time they seem to be not satisfied with being responsible for the financial stability of the family. Men are unhappy with being less involved with their children and carrying the burden of work life alone. On the other hand, if men take parental leave and assume caring responsibilities they often feel they are less masculine and develop low self esteem (Merla 2008, Hoefner 2003, Doucet 2004). Another contemporary in Austria and other European countries is the problem of declining birth rates. Children have high value, bring a lot of financial and individual costs with them and demand a great deal of time from their parents. Women attend longer years of education and have stronger attitudes to work life and career. Especially high educated women postpone their transition to parenthood to the late thirties or stay childless.