Domestic Division of Labour

march of progress

young and willmott take this view in regards to conjugal roles.

(functionalist) young and willmott

symmetrical family

(functionalist) young and willmott - symmetrical family

families that are balanced with men and women doing similar amounts of housework and childcare

(feminist) oakley

• segregated conjugal roles

• asymmetrical family

(feminist) oakley - segregated conjugal roles

the splitting of roles into different responsibilities for females and different responsibilities for males

(feminist) oakley - asymmetrical family

families that are unbalanced with women taking on more domestic work than men

sociologists for conjugal roles

parsons, duncome and marsden, miller

parsons

instrumental role and expressive role

parsons - instrumental role

the role which provides material resources

parsons - expressive role

the role which provides emotional support

duncombe and marsden

(woman's) triple shift

duncombe and marsden - triple shift

women having to do domestic work, paid work and non-physical fate

miller

new fatherhood: undoing gender and falling back into gender

miller - undoing gender

couples trying to not conform to traditional gender roles

miller - falling back into gender

parents trying to share roles but giving up and reverting to traditional roles

power and money sociologists

pahl and vogler

pahl and vogler concepts

• husband-controlled finances

• joint-pooling of finances

• partial-pooling of finances

pahl and vogler - husband-controlled finances

allowance system, a small amount of money set aside for the other partner's spending

pahl and vogler - joint-pooling of finances

all money is paid into a joint account to be managed fairly

pahl and vogler - partial-pooling of finances

both partners have their own accounts but a joint account/shared account also

braun et al and fatherhood

• active fathers

• background fathers

• male provider ideology

braun et al - active fathers

male parents that take a pro-active role in childcare

braun et al - background fathers

male parents that take a secondary role with childcare rather than active participation

braun et al - male provider ideology

society is conditioned to believe that men should do paid work and provide material resources for their family

gabb - parents and 'feeling rules'

males and females developing differing emotional attachments to domestic roles, especially parenting

hardill et al - male careers prioritised

found that among almost 2/3rds of the couples, the man's career took precedence. women's careers took priority only in 1 in 6 of the couples.

smart - money isn't a source of power among same-sex couples

argues that because same-sex couples don't have the same cultural and historical baggage surrounding money, they are more egalitarian as they don't see money as a source of asserting power (unlike straight couples)

extra sociologists:

crompton and lyonette

crompton and lyonette concepts

cultural and materialistic theories

crompton and lyonette - cultural theories

explanations for the unequal domestic division of labour being the result of societal expectactions

crompton and lyonette - materialistic theories

explanations for the unequal domestic division of labour being the result of earning power

sociologists: criticisms for division of labour being unequal

sullivan, kan, arber and ginn

(criticism of unequal) sullivan

found women in full-time paid work do much less domestic work

(criticism of unequal) kan

found younger men do more domestic work so there's a gradual shift happening from generations to generation

(criticism of unequal) arber and ginn

found domestic work is reduced for women in higher income households due to labour saving devices, cleaners and nannies etc. for every £10,000 more a woman earns a year, she does 2 hours less domestic work.

(criticism of unequal) dual earners

dual earners tend to have more equal division of domestic labour and the number of dual earner households is increasing

sociologists: criticisms for division of labour being equal

oakley, miller, braun, duncome and marsden

(criticism of equal) oakley - family symmetry

argues that family remains asymmetrical due to patriarchal culture and male provider ideology

(criticism of equal) oakley - token work

found male involvement in childcare is often only token work (fun and enjoyable) rather than tasks such as changing nappies etc.

(criticism of equal) miller

found most well-intentioned men quickly 'fall back into gender'

(criticism of equal) braun

found that rather than being active fathers, most men remain background fathers

(criticism of equal) duncombe and marsden

found that female employment doesn't always reduce domestic work, it often results in the triple shift.