Domestic division of labour

Question 1

Outline Willmott and Young’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 1

• Yes they are!
• Argue extended family has been replaced by symmetrical family
• Modern marriage is characterised by joint conjugal roles

Question 2

What is a symmetrical family?

Answer 2

A family in which the husband and wife do equal amounts of domestic work and share leisure time

Question 3

What are joint conjugal roles?

Answer 3

Where the husband and wife do shared domestic work and leisure time rather than separate

Question 4

Why does Oakley criticise Willmott and Young?

Answer 4

Argues their claim of increased symmetry was based on suspect methodology - conclusions based on 1 interview which was worded in a way that could exaggerate the amount of housework done by men

Question 5

Outline what was found in the British Social Attitudes Survey 2007 in regards to domestic roles

Answer 5

Found more sharing of child-rearing than household tasks but was some movement towards more equal division of labour

Question 6

Outline Ferri and Smith’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 6

• No they’re not!
• Used a survey and found in almost every kind of household, even where woman was in paid employment and the man was not, it was more common for woman to take main responsibility for childcare

Question 7

Outline Elston’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 7

• No they’re not!
• Survey of over 400 couples in which both partners were doctors found 80% of female doctors reported they took time off work to look after their sick children compared to 2% of male doctors
• Only a minority of professional couples genuinely shared housework and child care

Question 8

Outline Hardill’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 8

• No they’re not!
• Study of 30 dual career professional couples found that important decisions were usually taken by man alone or jointly and that his career normally took priority when deciding to move house for new job

Question 9

Outline Pahl and Vogler’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 9

• No they’re not!

Question 10

Outline Burghes and Beck’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 10

• Yes they are!
• Fathers are taking an increasingly active involvement in emotional side of child rearing even when marriages break down
• However, it’s important not to exaggerate men’s role in childcare as research by Gray found many fathers would like to spend more time with their children but are prevented by long working hours

Question 11

Outline Sullivan’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 11

• Yes they are!
• Analysed data collected over 25 years and found a trend towards greater equality as men did more domestic labour and were participating more in traditional women’s tasks such as childcare

Question 12

How does Giddens evaluate the domestic division of labour?

Answer 12

• Family and marriage transformed by greater choice and more equality
• Basis of marriage and family changed into one in which the couple are free to define their relationship themselves rather than acting out roles that have been defined in advance
• Can now choose own domestic roles within home

Question 13

How does Beck’s idea of a risk society evaluate the domestic division of labour?

Answer 13

Tradition has less influence and people have more choice - now more aware of the risks and make choices based on these such as cohabiting instead of marrying

Question 14

Outline Man-Yee Kan’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 14

• Yes they are!
• Found income from employment, age and education affected how much housework women did
• Better paid, younger and better educated women did less housework

Question 15

Outline Schor and Silver’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 15

• Yes they are!
• Housework has become commercialised and so goods and services housewives previously had to produce themselves are now mass produced and supplied
• This reduces amount of domestic labour that needs to be and so burden of housework on women has decreased and men can now do housework easily as well

Question 16

Outline Gershuney’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 16

• Yes they (kind of) are!
• Husbands of working women continued to do less than half the total paid and unpaid work of their wives
• However although the dual burden remained for women, men did seem to be doing more housework when their wives were in paid work

Question 17

Outline Arber and Ginn’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 17

• No they’re not!
• Greater equality depends on social class of women - middle class women able to afford full day childcare when they went out to work while working class women can’t and therefore are stuck in a cycle of childcare and part time work

Question 18

Outline Dunne’s view on whether domestic roles are becoming more equal

Answer 18

• No they’re not!
• Despite increase in working women, there’s been little change in domestic division of labour because of deeply ingrained ‘gender scripts’

Question 19

What are ‘gender scripts’?

Answer 19

The expectations and norms that set out the different gender roles that men and women in heterosexual couples are expected to play

Question 20

Which theorist coined the term ‘conjugal roles’?

Answer 20

Bott

Question 21

What is the dual burden?

Answer 21

Where women do paid and unpaid work such as housework

Question 22

What is the triple shift?

Answer 22

Where women do emotional work as well as paid and unpaid work

Question 23

What are separate conjugal roles?

Answer 23

Where the husband and wife have separate roles within the family and spend leisure time separately