1. Trends in Employment How many hours weekly do we work for pay?
Men = 48 (increases with # of kids)
Women = 39 (decreases if married)
Are we working for pay more hours per week now compared to 50 years ago?
Men are not
Women are

2. Trends in Women’s Employment
Women who work
Mothers with children under 6 who work
Mothers with children age 7-18 who work
37% %
19% %
39% %

3. Work and Family – Combining Roles
Role is a set of expected behaviors according to your social status.
Role Strain occurs when fulfilling your role conflicts with fulfilling another role. (For example worker and parent.) Often involves putting precedence one role over another.

4. Role Strain - Fathers
Good provider role-men traditionally expected to be primary breadwinner
If men assume main role in family is provider
Can feel inadequate if can’t provide
Can feel he’s done his part if he’s a good provider, therefore does not assume other roles

5. Role Strain - Fathers
Majority of bosses do not believe parental leave, part time work or flexible hours are appropriate for men

6. Role Strain – Fathers With Working Wives
Fathers in dual income households worked an average of 2 hours less per week than fathers in single income households
Earned 20% less in salary

7. Role Strain - Mothers Should women have jobs?
Should mothers have jobs?
What is a mother’s role anyway?
Can you fulfill the role of mother and employee well?

8. Role Strain – Mothers at Home
Homemaker role - Traditionally women were responsible for child rearing and household work
Women who assume role feel undervalued
60 % stay at home moms say main source of stress is feeling unappreciated by society

9. Role Strain – Mothers Working Full Time
Survey of lawyers 15 years after graduation found women with children earned 40% less than men (Wood, Corcoran & Courant) .
Was pay gap due to taking long maternity leave?
NO: Avg unpaid maternity leave was 3 months
Was pay gap due to working part time?
NO: 75% moms worked full time after maternity leave, only a quarter of the moms had temporarily worked part time (avg 10 months)
What is the reason?

10. Women’s Experience in Workplace
Women without children earn 90% salary of men in same job with same education level
Women with children earn 70% of salary of men in same job with same education level

11. Role Strain – Mothers Working Part Time
Fewer hours and lower wages but you get to keep your job
Sacrifice seniority and benefits and perks
Half of women who do this say workload is the same, 10% say workload increased
Mistrust and resentment of employers and fellow employees

12. The Mommy Tax
Average working mother of two forfeits half of her potential lifetime earnings (Joshi, ’91)
Reduced earnings including retirement is greater than $1 million for college educated mothers (O’Neill, ’94)

13. Mother’s Workforce Participation
US is among the lowest in developed countries for college educated mothers
Are they really choosing to not to work?
Would they keep working if they employers had opportunities for reduced or more flexible hours?

14. Women’s Birthplace Participation
About 20% of women forgo motherhood thesedays compared to less than 10% in the 1950’s
Are they really choosing not to have children?
Survey of middle aged childless women when they were in their 20’s found that half of them said they wanted and intended to have children

15. The Second Shift
Working wives spend twice as much time on housework as working husbands
Men’s time on housework remains stable whether married, single or a parent (22 hrs/wk)
Women’s time on housework increases
By 10 hours per week when she marries or has a child (32 hrs/wk to 42 hrs/wk)

16. Why is there a Second Shift?
Resource theory– Women have less power often making less money, must compensate
Ideological perspective – following traditional gender roles of “women’s work”
Rational investment perspective – divide labor according to efficiency

17. Men’s Perceptions in Dual-Career Families
Most men say wives’ employment is of secondary importance in family
However, most men say they support their spouse’s working
Actual measures of support from husbands (housework, emotional concern, etc) are significantly lower than wives

18. Brett & Yogev (1988) Restructuring Study
Restructuring is measured by:
Times of arrival/departure for work dictated by family?
Rearrange work to be at home at certain times?
Limit late nights, weekend work & travel?
Make special arrangements to attend to child or spouse’s needs?

19. Who is Restructuring & Why?
WOMEN restructured when
Had young children
Husband had job requiring long hours
MEN restructured when
Wives had high status job
Wives were feeling low in self-efficacy

20. Effect of Restructuring on Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy- feelings of confidence & effectiveness
Do you feel confident in solving problems?
Are things going your way?
Can you cope effectively with change?
Are you on top of things?

21. Effect of Restructuring on Self-Efficacy
WOMEN- Self-efficacy unaffected by restructuring.
MEN- Restructuring associated with low self-efficacy.

22. Men’s Marital Satisfaction in Dual-Career Families
Men’s marital satisfaction suffers when
Wife has more education
Wife has higher job status
Wife earns higher income
Wife has job in male-dominated field

23. Marital Satisfaction in Dual Career Families
HIGH when men work full time, women work part time
LOWEST when at least one partner works odd hours, overtime hours, or a second job
HIGH when couples genuinely agree on division of labor (If both full time, highest when men share housework equally)

24. Children with Working Mothers
For preschool children, most studies find no differences in psychological adjustment and school achievement as long as children are in high quality day care
Adolescent girls exhibit better social adjustment, extraversion & independence