1. The impact of paid work Positive impact Negative impact
Today, more than ¾ of
married or co-habiting
women are in some kind of
paid employment in the UK,
compared to less than half in
1971.

2. The impact of paid work
Man-Yee Kan (2001):
Income, age and education can have a positive or negative
correlation with the amount of housework women do. For every
£10,000 increase in salary, there is a two-hour reduction in
housework.
Gershuny (1994): wives who work do
less housework.
No work  83% of housework
Part-time  82% of housework
Full-time  73% of housework
Longer in paid work = more help from
husband.

3. The impact of paid work
Gershuny (1994):
Argues that there has been a gradual increase in equality between
the sexes due to a shift in norms and values around paid work. It is
seen as the norm for wives and mothers to work.
Crompton (1997): agrees with
Sullivan (1975, 1987, 1997): Gershuny, though thinks the
trend towards equality in the trend towards equality is
home. Men are taking on linked to earning power
more traditionally female (MONEY!) rather than
tasks (similar to the changing norms and values.
‘symmetrical family’ theory).

4. The impact of paid work
Crompton (1997): suggests
that until we have truly equal
pay between the sexes, then
the division of labour in the
home will remain unequal.
Men working full-time £27,300
Women working full-time £20,592
Difference per year £6,708
Difference per month £559
Difference in monthly take-home pay £374.53
Difference over a lifetime £250,000

5. The commercialisation of housework
Silver (1987) and Schor
(1993): good and services,
such as domestic appliances
and cleaners are used to
reduce housework. With
women work as well as men,
households are more able to
afford these.
Have a look at the tasks at the bottom of
p. 22 in Trobe.

6. The dual burden
Feri and Smith (1996): Survey
sample of 1,589 33 year-old
fathers and mothers. Fathers
took main responsibility for
childcare in fewer than 4% of
families.

7. The dual burden
Arber and Ginn
(1995): full day
childcare is essential
for many women to
stay in employment.
Ramos (2003): contradicts
Morris, suggesting that in
households with an
Morris (1990): even when unemployed male and female
fathers are unemployed, they in full-time employment do
avoid the housework. R W the same amount of
Connell calls this the ‘crisis of housework (19 hours per
masculinity’. week).

8. The triple burden?
Hochschild (1983): suggests
an even bleaker picture for
mothers: paid work, followed
by domestic work and
supporting the family
emotionally (e.g. caring for a
sick child). Marsden (1995)
calls this a ‘triple shift’.

9. In what types of family might we
find a more equal division of
labour?
Homosexual
cohabiting families
Dunne studied 37 cohabiting lesbian
couples with dependent children. Dunne (1999): thinks that
Found they were more likely than inequality in the division of
heterosexual couples to: labour arises because of
deeply ingrained ‘gender
•Share childcare and housework scripts’ (essentially norms and
equally. values about who does what
•Ascribe equal importance to their in the home and gender
careers. roles).
•view childcare positively.