In this episode of Why Care?, Nadia Nagamootoo sits down with Elliott Rae, founder of Music Football Fatherhood, creator of the Parenting Out Loud movement and one of the UK’s leading voices on fatherhood, modern masculinity and men’s mental health. Elliott reflects on his decade of work shifting workplace culture for dads, from challenging stigma around flexible working to building systems that support equal parenting.

Grounded in personal experience, including the trauma and transformation of early parenthood, Elliott explains why encouraging dads to speak up about their caregiving responsibilities is essential for gender equality, societal wellbeing and children’s development. His story blends purpose, vulnerability and activism, revealing how changing the way men parent can change the foundations of work and family life everywhere. 

Key Takeaways:

• Equal parenting is a system shift that reduces the motherhood penalty.

• Stigma, silence and old ideas of masculinity still block dads at work.

• Culture change requires leaders to understand the ‘why’ behind caring.

• Father involvement improves wellbeing for men, women and children.

• Proactive organisational messaging dramatically increases leave uptake.

Guest Bio

Elliott Rae is the founder of the parenting platform MusicFootballFatherhood, called the ‘Mumsnet for Dads’ by the BBC. He is the curator of the bestselling book, DAD, presenter of BBC One documentary ‘Becoming Dad’ and co-founder of the Working Dads Employer Awards.

 Elliott created the Parenting Out Loud campaign which supports employers to build workplace cultures where dads can be loud and proud about their caring responsibilities at work. 

Elliott is the ex-Head of DEI Delivery at HM Treasury and one of the UK’s most prominent speakers on fatherhood, men’s mental health and masculinity.

 He co-hosts the popular podcast, To Be A Boy, which is one of the top parenting podcasts in the UK and he has written for publications such as The Independent, The Telegraph and Grazia and frequently appears across the media, including a feature on Loose Women and regular contributions to Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio London.

 Elliott was recently awarded an MBE and his work on gender equality has been recognised by the United Nations and he was awarded the #HeForShe award by UN Women UK.

In 2025, Elliott created and hosted the world’s first Working Dad’s Summit.

Links

• Elliott Rae: Instagram| LinkedIn | Website
• Parenting Out Loud: https://elliottrae.com/parentingoutloud/
• Music Football Fatherhood: https://www.musicfootballfatherhood.com
• Nadia Nagamootoo: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
• Avenir Consulting: https://linktr.ee/avenirconsultingservices