Is the family more symmetrical today?
YES NO
Bott- Found there were two ways in which household jobs can be Oakley- Evaluated Willmott & Young’s study and found problems with
shared I modern industrial Britain: Segregated Roles (Husband the methodology as their study only required men to do a few things
and wives live separate lives with clear and distinct around the house to qualify as performing an equal role. Instead, she
responsibilities) and Joint Roles (Husband and wife roles are found that women still do the majority of housework in most cases
more flexible, shared and less defined. Leisure time and decision (only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework,
– making is shared). The rise of the nuclear family during the and 25% in childcare). Women take on a double burden by doing paid
Industrial Revolution led to join conjugal roles. jobs and still being responsible for the home and children.
Willmott & Young- Crompton- Demonstrated that inequalities of social class, gender and
1950s: The conjugal roles of husband and wife were largely the household were interrelated. She showed that middle-class men
segregated as there was a clear-cut division on labour between depended on the support labour of women both as domestic ‘services’
spouses. The husband lacked involvement in domestic chores and and as a ‘white-collar proletariat’ of secretaries and support workers
childcare and was associated with male colleges whereas the wife which meant that men could get more rapid promotion over their
associated with extended kin and neighbours. backs. Rosemary became acutely aware that growing numbers of
1970s: Conjugal roles become more equal, but the wife still had young women were not prepared to continue with this traditional
primary responsibility for childcare and housework, but the husband gender way of living. She saw these women as harbingers of social
did start to help out. Spouses share decisions about their child’s change and as remaking class relationships, and, from the mid-1990s,
education. The symmetrical family is home- centred, resulting in the she embarked on comparative analyses of gender, household and
family becoming more isolated and nuclear as the family becomes class relationships in other European countries.
more equal.
= MARCH OF PROGRESS
Sue Sharpe- In 1972, girls prioritised marriage, jobs, career, love, Ferris & Smith- Modern women acquired a dual burden through
husband and children whereas in the 90s, attitudes had changed, changes in position of women have resulted in more women working,
and careers become a much higher priority. there is little evidence of ‘new man’ who does equal share of domestic
work. The dual burden counteracts arguments of the symmetrical
family. Men now simply benefit from women’s earning from
employment as well as domestic labour.
Gershuny- With Sullivan, both suggested a trend towards quality Morris- Measured conjugal roles by examining decision making and
in the share of domestic work because of the increase in the who makes the ‘final say’ in families in North East England in the 80s.
number of women working full-time. Gershuny’s data suggests At a time of high male unemployment, traditional patriarchal ideas of
that the longer the life has been in paid work, the more gender roles in the family were maintained despite expecting men
housework her husband was likely to do. would help more in the household.
Sullivan- Found a trend between 1975, 1987 and 1997 towards Arber & Ginn- Analysed the circumstances under which providing
greater equality as men did more domestic work. informal care has an adverse impact on paid employment. The
relationship between informal caring and employment is complex and
YES NO
Bott- Found there were two ways in which household jobs can be Oakley- Evaluated Willmott & Young’s study and found problems with
shared I modern industrial Britain: Segregated Roles (Husband the methodology as their study only required men to do a few things
and wives live separate lives with clear and distinct around the house to qualify as performing an equal role. Instead, she
responsibilities) and Joint Roles (Husband and wife roles are found that women still do the majority of housework in most cases
more flexible, shared and less defined. Leisure time and decision (only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework,
– making is shared). The rise of the nuclear family during the and 25% in childcare). Women take on a double burden by doing paid
Industrial Revolution led to join conjugal roles. jobs and still being responsible for the home and children.
Willmott & Young- Crompton- Demonstrated that inequalities of social class, gender and
1950s: The conjugal roles of husband and wife were largely the household were interrelated. She showed that middle-class men
segregated as there was a clear-cut division on labour between depended on the support labour of women both as domestic ‘services’
spouses. The husband lacked involvement in domestic chores and and as a ‘white-collar proletariat’ of secretaries and support workers
childcare and was associated with male colleges whereas the wife which meant that men could get more rapid promotion over their
associated with extended kin and neighbours. backs. Rosemary became acutely aware that growing numbers of
1970s: Conjugal roles become more equal, but the wife still had young women were not prepared to continue with this traditional
primary responsibility for childcare and housework, but the husband gender way of living. She saw these women as harbingers of social
did start to help out. Spouses share decisions about their child’s change and as remaking class relationships, and, from the mid-1990s,
education. The symmetrical family is home- centred, resulting in the she embarked on comparative analyses of gender, household and
family becoming more isolated and nuclear as the family becomes class relationships in other European countries.
more equal.
= MARCH OF PROGRESS
Sue Sharpe- In 1972, girls prioritised marriage, jobs, career, love, Ferris & Smith- Modern women acquired a dual burden through
husband and children whereas in the 90s, attitudes had changed, changes in position of women have resulted in more women working,
and careers become a much higher priority. there is little evidence of ‘new man’ who does equal share of domestic
work. The dual burden counteracts arguments of the symmetrical
family. Men now simply benefit from women’s earning from
employment as well as domestic labour.
Gershuny- With Sullivan, both suggested a trend towards quality Morris- Measured conjugal roles by examining decision making and
in the share of domestic work because of the increase in the who makes the ‘final say’ in families in North East England in the 80s.
number of women working full-time. Gershuny’s data suggests At a time of high male unemployment, traditional patriarchal ideas of
that the longer the life has been in paid work, the more gender roles in the family were maintained despite expecting men
housework her husband was likely to do. would help more in the household.
Sullivan- Found a trend between 1975, 1987 and 1997 towards Arber & Ginn- Analysed the circumstances under which providing
greater equality as men did more domestic work. informal care has an adverse impact on paid employment. The
relationship between informal caring and employment is complex and
