Gender Still Unequal

Despite many changes in society, some feminist sociologists argue that gender roles and relationships within the family remain unequal. Women still take responsibility for housework and childcare, and men still dominate in terms of power and financial control. However, other sociologists argue that there is evidence that gender roles in relationships becoming equal. For example, men now take on a more domestic role. 

Applying material from the text above and your knowledge, evaluate the view that gender roles and relationships within the family is still equal in society today. [20 marks] 

‘Women still take responsibility for housework and childcare’

• Women at work and still have to do housework - men still believe that they do the most as seen in surveys

• Triple shift - can be especially present in beanpole families

• Ferri and Smith - studied over 1500 couples and found that only 4% of men take on most childcare

• Despite progress, women still take on housewife roles

• C - Parsons - the way

‘men now take on a more domestic role’

• Women being at home less has forced men into domestic role - legislation

• Young and Wilmott - Bethnal Green March of Progress stratified diffusion

• Argues the family is symmetrical

• C - didn’t transfer to the lower classes

• Fuller - w/c girls are more likely to go into stereotypically female careers (possible even part time) as it is a part of their habitus

‘financial control’

• Heterosexual couples place value on who deals with the finances due to gender scripts

• Pahl and Vogler - pooling and allowance system - found that men made most decisions with AS type

• Smart - lesbian couples don’t care

• Puts strain on straight relationships as they associate power with this

• Despite progress, gender roles struggle to become equal because people subconsiously do these things

• C - Gershuny