the division on decision-making and money-management- focus on power

Couples may differ on the decisions they make in the home – such as, do they move house? to what do we buy for dinner? – as well as who controls the household finances e.g. joint or separate bank accounts.

EQUALITY

Alpha Female - DWP

DWP Study 2012, based on interviews with 24 couples, found

· women increasingly taking charge of household decisions, including which pension provider or utility company to use, as they increasingly nudge men out as the main breadwinner.

· women were increasingly becoming the “alpha” partner instigating financial decisions and carrying out necessary research.

· men have a “relatively low level of responsibility”, are usually “short-termist” and “relatively relaxed” in their financial thinking.

Additionally, Hardhill et al studied families where both partners worked and found evidence of more equal relationships, although they found some evidence of male dominance of family decisions.

Evaluation

1. The study was carried out on only 24 couples and so it is difficult to generalise based on such a small sample. We cannot apply such findings to all nuclear families in the UK today.

2. It is impossible to say if decision-making and money management varies by social class or ethnicity or age, indicating other factors as being influential.

INEQUALITY

Decision Making - Edgell

Edgell found men are more likely to make the important decisions, for example moving house and finances, and women the less important ones. His study of professional couples found that:

· Very important decisions e.g. change of job or moving house – taken by husband alone or jointly but husband has final say.

· Less important decisions – e.g. house décor, purchase of children’s clothes or food – usually solely made by wife.

This evidence highlights that although women may make some decisions, a hierarchal order exists around these with men taking overall responsibility indicating evidence of inequality which remains.

Evaluation

1. Edgell’s study is over 40 years old now, showing it is outdated.

Pooling – Pahl

Pahl interviewed 102 couples who were both in paid employment and found evidence of pooling, although this was not always equal.

For the majority of these couple’s money was shared, but the man had financial control. She called this ‘husband-controlled pooling’, most likely in higher-income households.

Another common arrangement – but less so than husband-controlled pooling - was ‘wife-controlled pooling’ where money was shared but the wife controlled the spending. The least likely arrangement was when the women controlled the spending. She found no evidence of symmetry when it comes to financial equality.

Evaluation

1. This is also an outdated. Society has since progressed and we cannot assume couples now pool in the same way. Lack of representation also in relation to only 102 interviews.