Fathers are important to kids. So are mothers. Mothers and fathers together are far better than a mother and a father separated. While sometimes divorce is inevitable, we should do everything in society to help parents stay together.
I am a working mom. I wish I didn't have to work, but right now I do. For a time when we had our first baby my husband was only working part-time. He was home three days a week with our daughter for nearly a year. Today, she is 8 and they have an outstanding relationship.
Dads need to be there as often as they can. Career is important, but family must always top the list. Family is my number one focus, and I would have it no other way. Because family is my number one focus, I have lost out on promotions and raises and recognition because I do not put in the extra hours needed to "get ahead" -- or go out to expensive lunches, or go drinking after work. That's fine by me.
My husband helps around the house. We split the chores. We argue about it (I would rather play with the kids than clean the house). But we are together, and we will stay together (unless he cheats on me, then I'll be a widow.) The importance is communication and common goals.
Anyway, my point (if I had one) is that children need both parents, and men and women need a stable and equitable relationship with mutual support and love.
And that is the truth. There is way too much bashing of the genders. A family is strong and fragile at the same time. Keeping a family together takes work and commitment - even in the single parent family. Today, the gender war seems to portray the affects of divorce on today's adult children. God bless all the Dads (married, divorced, widowed or single) who know and love their children.