gender roles - family

what is the domestic division of labour

division of roles, responsibilities and work tasks within a household

what is a conjugal role

roles played by a male and female partner in marriage or in cohabitating relationships

what are segregated conjugal roles

a clear division and separation between male and female roles

what are integrated (or joint) conjugal roles

shows few divisions between male and female partner’s roles

examples of ‘male’ jobs

DIY + fixing things, mowing the lawn, taking out the bins, BBQ

examples of ‘female’ jobs

cooking, cleaning, laundry, looking after children

difference between ‘male’ and ‘female’ jobs

male jobs are less frequent + more satisfying, whereas female jobs are more frequent + less statisfying

what has caused the family to become more symmetrical (6)

• improved living standards in the home

• decline of the close-knit extended family and greater geographical + social mobility

• improved status and rights of women

• commercialisation of housework

• increase in no. of women in paid employment

• weaker gender identities

effect of improved living standards in the home on families

standards such as central heating, internet and computers encourage husbands and wives to become more home-centred, building their relationship and home

effect of decline of the close-knit extended family + greater geographical + social mobility

ties between extended families are weakened by geographical distance → reduces pressure on new couples to take on traditional roles

what does this mean there are no more of

male/female centred networks, couples become more dependent on eachother

effect of improved status and rights of women

encourages men to accept women as their equals rather then simply housewives → allows women to become more assertive in assigning men roles

effect of commercialising housework

consumer ‘white goods’ provide a wide range of domestic services, which are argued to ‘deskill’ housework

what do silver and schor say about the commercialisation of housework

it reduces the time-consuming aspects of housework, encouraging men to do more

however, what are the limits of this (2)

• only applicable to the well off, who can afford these products

• must often still be organised by the women

effect of the increase of no. of women in paid employment

women have increased independence and authority, reducing the time spent on housework → reduces gender inequality (very slowly), men have increased their roles in the home, but they remain traditionally masculine roles

effect of weaker gender identities (2)

• postmodernists argue men + women have much more choice in how they choose their roles → ‘pick’n’mix’ roles and identities based on personal choice

• this weakens traditional gender divisions in households, encouraging men to do more

how much more unpaid domestic work do women perform (compared to men)

60% more

how many hours of domestic unpaid work do women do a week (compared to men)

women → 26 hours per week

men → 16 hours per week

what did a UCL study of 8500 UK couples find

only 6% of couples share housework equally, and just 1% have men doing more

do men and women share housework and childcare equally?

(this evidence shows the origins of sociological interest in this area of family life. THEY ARE ALL NOW TOO OLD TO BE USED IN AN ESSAY ON ‘MODERN/CONTEMPORARY FAMILY LIFE’)

what did parsons (1955) say about domestic division of labour

instrumental (male breadwinner) and expressive (female housewife) roles

what did he argue this division is labour is based on

biological differences, with women ‘more suited’ to be naturally nurturing, and men more suited to be workers

what are 2 criticisms of parsons argument

• michael young + peter willmott → men are now taking a more domestic role, and women are now earning wages

• feminists reject that the division of labour is natural + that it benefits men only

joint and conjugal roles (2)

• elizabeth bott (1957) distinguishes 2 types of conjugal roles: segregated conjugal roles and joint conjugal roles

• young and willmott identified a pattern of segregated conjugated roles in their study of traditional w.c. extended families in Bethnal Green (east london) in the 1950s → men spent leisure time with workmates in clubs, women were full time housewives

what do young and willmott (1973) say about ‘the symmetrical family’

they take a ‘march of progress’ view where family life is gradually improving for all members

what do they mean by ‘symmetrical family’

a family in which the roles of women and men (whilst not identical) are much more similar

what did they discover in their study of families in london

symmetrical families were much more common amongst younger couples, who were geographically and socially isolated, and the more affluent

consequently what 4 factors do they believe are responsible for the formation of the symmetrical family

• changes in womens position

• geographical mobility

• new technology

• higher standards of living

how do feminists view housework

they reject this march of progress view, saying little has changed: women and men remain unequal, with women performing most work

what does ann oakley say (1974)

young and willmott’s claims of a symmetrical family are exaggerated → she found in research some evidence of men helping in the home, but no evidence of a trend towards symmetry

what are men more likely to do

pleasurable aspects of childcare → e.g. playing with children. this means women lose rewards of childcare, and are left with more time to perform housework

what later research supports oakleys findings

Mary Boulton (1983) → fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare

are couples becoming more equal?

what questions does the impact of paid work raise

1. is it leading to a more equal division of labour? (march of progress view)

2. or does it simply lead to a ‘dual burden’ for women? (feminist view)

how many women were working (full time or part time) by march 2022

72.2%

THE MARCH OF PROGRESS VIEW

2 general trends which are highlighted by the march of progress view

• due to more women working, more men are involved with the division of labour at home → more equality within the home

• this is represented by changing attitudes, with only 9% agreeing with the traditional roles in 2023

which sociologists agree with this (2)

• Jonathon Gershuny (1994) → using time studies, he suggests employed women do less domestic work than other women

• Orial Sullivan (2000) analysis of data from 1975, 1987 and 1997 similarly supported this

FEMINIST VIEW

how much do men do

according to a survey in 2012, men did an average of 8 hours of housework per week, compared to women’s 13 hours. similarly, men spent 10 hours on family care, whilst women spent 23 hours.

what did this survey also reveal

couples continue to divide household tasks along traditional gender roles

overall, how does the evidence presented by the feminist view contradict the march of progress view (3)

• suggests women are now completing the majority of housework whilst also being employed

• whilst men contribute, females tend to do double the housework men do

• also, gender still influences tasks → male roles are often more intrinsically satisfying

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILDREN

how involved are men in the raising of children according to evidence

involvement is limited → happy to help with easy and enjoyable tasks, but more difficult or unenjoyable tasks are left to the women (e.g. caring for a sick child)

what does Dex and Ward (2007) argue about the role of fathers in childcare

fathers had high levels of involvement with their 3 year olds (e.g. 78% played with them), but when it came to caring for a sick child, only 1% of fathers took the main responsibility for caring for children

what does Braun, Vincent and Ball (2011) argue about the role of fathers in childcare (3)

• only 3/70 families (they had studied) revealed the father as the main caregiver

• most fathers were ‘background fathers’, only helping with childcare to please their wives

• most fathers held a ‘provider ideology’ that their role was to be a breadwinner

EMOTION WORK AND THE TRIPLE SHIFT

who argues the concept of a triple shift

Jean Dunscombe and Dennis Marsden (1995)

what is a triple shift

housework (cooking, cleaning), paid work (71.8% of women working in december 2024) and emotion work (handling jealousy between siblings, managing emotions of children, managing stress about finances)

who argues that women have to also deal with ‘emotion work’

arlie russel hochschild (2013)

TAKING RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ‘QUALITY TIME’