Recourses + decision making in households

• Barrett + McIntosh (1991):

  • men gain more from women's domestic work, than they give back in financial support.
  • financial support from men comes attached with strings.
  • men usually make the decisions about spending on important items.
• Evaluation of Barrett + McIntosh (1991):

  • Radical feminists may agree cuz it proves patriarchy in relationships.
• Money management/meaning of money (A01):

  • going against equality in relationships.
• Money management (A02):

  • (Feminist sociologists) Vogler + Pahl (1993) - two main types control over income:
  • Allowance system: wives have allowances by husband, have to budget meet family needs. man retaining surplus income for self.
  • Pooling: joint responsibility over access to income.
  • Barrett + McIntosh (1991): men gain more from women's domestic work than in financial support.
• Money management (A03):

  • Hardill's (1997): usually taken by men + his career took priority, women's lives structured around men.
• Cultural vs material explanation (A01):

  • against equality in relationships.
• Cultural vs material explanation (A02 - sociological approaches):

  • Feminists: argue inequalities in decision-making not simply inequalities in earnings.
  • patriarchal society, cultural definition of men as decision makers ingrained in both men + women through gender role socialisation.
• Cultural vs material explanation (A03 - evaluation):

  • Vogler et al, found cohabiting couples less likely to pool money in desire to maintain independence but evidence suggests more likely than married couples to share domestic tasks equal.
• Decision making (A01):

  • against equality in relationships.
• Decision making (A02 - sociological approaches):

  • Pahl + Vogler (2007), pooled income controlled by men, give men more power in major financial decisions.
  • Edgell's (1980), study on couples found:
  • very important decisions: involving finances/moving house made by man alone.
  • important decisions: children education... made by wife alone/rarely joint.
  • less important decisions: food purchases made by wife alone.
• Decision making (A03 - Evaluation):

  • Laurie + Gershuny (2000), found 70% of couples have equal say in decisions.
• 'Personal life' perspective on money (A01):

  • supporting equality in relationships.
• 'Personal life' perspectives on money (A02 - sociologist approaches):

  • Smart (2007): gay men attached no importance to who controlled the finances. do not see control of money as equality/inequality = Dunne's found similar results with not having gender scripts, more equal.
  • Weeks (2001): typical pattern was pooling some money, with separate accounts for personal reasons, reflects value for 'co-independence'.
• 'Personal life' perspective on money (A03 - Evaluation):

  • Pahl argues, if man earns twice as much money as wife, but put same amount in account, count as equality?