Feminism - resources and decision making

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Barrett and McIntosh (1991) - male control of finances and therefore women

• Women unequally compensated for unpaid work by their husbands

• Any financial support men give to their wives is unpredictable and has strings attached

• Men make major decisions about spending

• Shows that men use finances to monopolise their wives and exercise decision-making powers

Kempson (1994) - low-income families and choices on spending

• In low-income families, the first ‘luxuries’ to go were woman’s needs such as leisure time and food

• Shows that resources are concentrated on the man and children as the woman has no entitlement to a share of household resources despite all the unpaid work she does

Pahl and Vogel (2007) - types of control of familial income

• Pooling - both partners have access to income and joint responsibility for expenditure

  • Despite pooled incomes, husband controls family finances (not quite as much as allowance system) and major decisions

• Allowance system

  • Men give their wives an allowance which they have to spend on family needs, whereas men spend surplus income on themselves

  • Men have majority of control over financial decisions

Hardill (1997) - decision making, moving house

• Most important decisions taken by the man alone or jointly

• Man’s career takes priority when considering moving

Finch (1983) - women’s lives and men’s careers

• Women’s lives tend to be structured around the husband’s careers

Edgell (1980) - levels of importance for decision making and gender taking decision

• Very important decisions: man alone or jointly with man having final say

• Important decisions: jointly, seldom wife alone

• Less important decisions: wife

• Men more likely to take decisions as earn more

  • Women earn less, economically dependent on husbands and therefor e have less of a say

CRITICISM of Edgell (1980)

Laurie and Gershuny (2000)

• By 1995, 70% of couples said had equal say in decisions

• HOWEVER: high earning, high qualified professional women more likely to have a say

Feminist explanation of unequal division of decision making/resource splitting

• All these inequalities are due to the patriarchy instilling the idea that men are decision makers through gender role socialisation

Cultural explanation of decision making (aligns with fem. explanation)

Crompton and Lyonette (2008)

• Decision making determined by patriarchal norms and values that shape gender roles

• Men make more of the decisions because that’s what society expects and has socialised them to do