Resources and Decision-Making

Barrett and McIntosh (1991)

• Women are unequally compensated for their 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)

• 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 & Vogler (2007)

• Pooling

  • Despite pooled incomes, husband controls family finances 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

Edgell

• The man makes most of the financial decisions in the family as he earns the most

Laurie & Gershuny

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

  • The higher qualified and earning the women were, the more of a say they had in decisions

Hardill (1997)

• Most important decisions taken by the man alone or jointly

• Man’s career takes priority when considering moving

Finch (1983)

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

Feminists

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

‘Personal life’ perspective

• Importance is attached to controlling money, which is different for every couple

• Resources are shared and decisions made based off this importance attached to decisions or just for convenience

• Same-sex relationships escape these societal ideas/constructs so often have a more equal say in decision making and controlling money

• This idea encompasses new family forms and relationships