... but there are a ton of these films that popped up in the 80s and 90s, where kids are portrayed as the poor victims of their father's inattention as he works endless hours for the almighty dollar (or is obsessed with his work, usually scientific or academic). I remember that my professor in sociology class actually remarked that these films were more or less the direct result of women entering the work force, yet it was the father that got the bulk of the blame for not being around.
Why?
1. It wasn't just women entering the workplace, but the spreading idea that fathers had the same (or almost the same) obligation to be parents as mothers. You didn't see that kind of thing in the 50's. It was understood that the dad made money and the mom took care of the kids.
2. The audience would be more likely to forgive an absentee father than an absentee mother. People tend to see being a workaholic or emotionally stunted doofus as a sympathetic character flaw in dads, whereas they'd be more likely to think a woman was just being a bad mom and get turned off. Hence Homer Simpson and the proliferation of dumb sitcom dads.*
3. Movies just tend to be built around male stars more. So even if a dilemma is more common for women, it'll be used as a star vehicle for a man. Like all those movies where a guy (or guys) has to care for a kid without a partner.
spoiler (click to show/hide)
*The converse of this is the sitcom mom who frequently gets pissed off at the dad. You don't do it the other way because then it feels threatening rather than humorous.