Gender and the Division of Labor

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the division of labor between women and men and the distinction commonly drawn between domestic work and paid work. Work performed directly in the service of familiesincluding housework and childcare -is often unacknowledged because of cultural assumptions that a wife or mother should do it in the privacy of the home. Paid work, on the other hand, is much more public and historically associated with men. Holding a job and earning a salary has been considered to be a husband's traditional family obligation, whereas tending to home and children traditionally has been considered a wife's primary obligation (even if she also works outside the home). Why do we make these gendered assumptions, and what impact do these ideals have on individuals and society? In this chapter we investigate these questions by examining how the concept of separate work and family spheres for men and women arose and by exploring how scholars have researched the division of household labor. Links Between Work and FamilyRosabeth Moss Kanter (1977) was one of the first scholars to point out that it is misleading to treat work and family as separate institutional spheres. She rejected popular beliefs about the separation of workplaces and families, and she called for an examination of the interconnections between the two and the study of how and why people make and sustain attachments to each. Today, most social scientists recognize and appreciate the numerous mutual influences between the workplace and the home (Jacobs & Gerson, 2004;Moen & Coltrane, 2004). Near the end of this chapter we summarize research in this tradition by focusing on some findings about spillover from work to family and from family to work.Although there are many different linkages between work and family, most researchers have focused on how jobs influence family life. For example, there are many studies of how economic resources and job conditions affect marital functioning, parenting practices, or mental and physical health. In general, longer employment hours, harsher working conditions, and lower wages are associated with more family and health problems, and closely regulated work environments are associated with more restrictive parenting practices. Other work-family studies are focused on the different strategies people use to coordinate market labor and household labor, who does the housework, or how people balance commitments between work and family. Most studies show that job demands have important impacts on families and individuals and that, despite substantial shifts in

Coparenting dynamics: Mothers' and fathers' differential support and involvement

“…Our findings indicate that both fathers' support of mothers and fathers' higher levels of involvement in parental decision making positively relate to increased levels of dyadic cooperative coparenting, whereas maternal involvement and mothers' support of fathers were unrelated to cooperative coparenting. These results complement the literature indicating that although high levels of maternal involvement in parenting are normative, paternal involvement is much more variable, and higher father involvement predicts more positive family dynamics and child outcomes (Coltrane & Shih, ; Ehrenberg et al, ). Specifically, previous research has found that fathers' greater involvement in play with their children relates to increased support within the coparenting relationship, as well as decreased undermining coparenting (Jia & Schoppe‐Sullivan, ).…”

“…This finding is consistent with previous research showing that mothers tend to have a greater influence on fathers' coparenting involvement than fathers do on mothers' coparenting, and that mothers display comparatively less support and higher levels of criticism of their spouse's parenting as compared to fathers (e.g., Schoppe‐Sullivan et al, ). Although fathers often assume a more active role in parenting when their children both reach age 2 and become more independent from their mother, mothers continue to assume much more responsibility for child care than fathers (e.g., Coltrane & Shih, ; Ehrenberg et al, ; Kotila et al, ). Given their established relationship with their child right from the start of the transition to parenthood, some mothers may even feel threatened by fathers' increased involvement, leading to a greater tendency to be a “gatekeeper” and undermine the father's parenting (e.g., Schoppe, Altenburger, Lee, Bower, & Kamp Dush, ; Schoppe‐Sullivan et al, ).…”

Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses

“…In the most recent film, The Princess and the Frog, the princess was careeroriented, which initially prevented her from socializing and pursuing romantic opportunities. This was presented as a somewhat worrisome trait, in keeping with a society that might still be somewhat cautious of women's greater role in the workplace and what that means for family life (Coltrane and Shih 2010). At the conclusion of the movie, however, she was able to both pursue a successful career and marry the prince.…”

“…Gender expectations were less complex when the first Disney Princess movies were produced and with the rise of feminism in the 1970s through current times they have become more complicated (Ferree et al 2007). Women used to take care of the house and the children (Coltrane and Shih 2010), and these skills are showcased by the early princesses, such as the princesses in Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Women now, however, are expected to maintain such feminine traits, and also to incorporate aspects of "male" traits such as assertiveness, if they are to succeed outside of the home (Coltrane 2004).…”

Relationship Quality Among Young Couples from an Economic and Gender Perspective

“…One such critique of this and other economic and resource exchange theories is their assumption that rational choice and exchange principles are gender-neutral (Coltrane and Shih 2010). In order to provide a more accurate picture of how the division of household labor relates to relationship satisfaction, it is necessary to also account for gender.…”