What Is Maternal Gatekeeping? | Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan (Mom of 1, Ohio State)

Oct 29, 2026

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Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan is a Professor of Psychology at The Ohio State University and Director of the Children and Parents Lab. For nearly two decades, she has studied how couples become parents, how fathers develop confidence, and the subtle dynamics that can push one parent into the role of expert while the other becomes the backup.

She’s also the lead researcher behind the New Parents Project, a longitudinal study that began with nearly 200 first-time parents during pregnancy and has followed their families into their children’s late teens. We talked about maternal gatekeeping, why even couples who want an equal partnership can fall into unequal roles, and what dads can do to become more confident and involved parents. We discussed:

Understanding maternal gatekeeping: How parents can either close or open the gate, and why the dynamic is more complicated than moms simply shutting dads out.
Breaking the expert and backup parent cycle: How one confident parent and one less confident parent can create a self-reinforcing imbalance at home.
Building confidence as a dad: What Sarah learned from expectant parents using a faceless doll and why dads can grow into the role with practice.
Why parenting gets less equal after kids: What time diary research revealed about childcare, housework, paid work, and leisure after becoming parents.
Making parental leave work for dads: Why paid leave, workplace culture, and senior leaders modeling leave all matter.
Getting out of the backup parent role: Why dads need to communicate, take ownership, and make their desire to be involved clear.

Where to find Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan