The Domestic Division of Labour

• Defining the 'Domestic Division of Labour'

  Refers to the roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare, and paid work. Sociologists are interested if men and women share domestic tasks equally.
• Parsons: Instrumental and Expressive Roles


  Traditional nuclear family, roles are segregated. In the Functionalist model there is a clear division of labour-

  Men- Instrumental: geared towards achieving success at work to enable him to provide and be the breadwinner.

  Women- Expressive: geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting the family's emotional needs; the homemaker.

  Argues this is based on biological differences; it is beneficial to both men and women, their children, and wider society. New Right thinkers also hold this view.
• Criticisms of Parson's Instrumental and Expressive Roles

  Young and Willmott: argue men are now taking greater share of domestic tasks and more wives are becoming wage earners (March of Progress).

  Feminists reject Parsons' view that the division of labour is 'natural' as they argue it only benefits men.
• Bott: Joint and Segregated Conjugal Roles 


  Segregated Conjugal Roles- couples have separate roles; male breadwinner and female homemaker/carer, like Parsons' Functionalist Model of the Family. Leisure activities are separate too.

  Joint Conjugal Roles- couples share tasks such as housework and childcare; and spend their leisure time together.
• Young and Willmott: Segregated Conjugal Roles 


  Identified a pattern of segregated conjugal roles in their study of traditional working class extended families in east London. In 1950s, men were breadwinners and played little part in home life, and spent their leisure time with workmates in pubs and working men's clubs. Women were full-time housewives with sole responsibility for housework and childcare, helped by their female relatives. Women spent limited leisure time with their female kin.
• Young and Willmott: The Symmetrical Family 


  Take a 'March of Progress' view; seeing family life as gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic. Arguing there has been a long term trend away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles in the 'symmetrical family'.
• Young and Willmott: The Symmetrical Family Characteristics 


  Although the roles aren't fully identical, they are more similar: women now go out to work, though this may be part-time; men help with house tasks and childcare; couples spend leisure time together.

  Their study found symmetrical couples were more common among younger couples who were more geographically and socially isolated; and the more affluent.
• Young and Willmott: The Symmetrical Family Development

  See this as a result of major social changes that have taken place in the past century:

  Changes in women's positions (married women working)

  Geographical Mobility (more couples living away from communities they grew up in)

  New technology (like labour-saving devices)

  Higher standards of living

  • These are inter-linked; women bringing a second wage allows a higher standard of living, couples can afford labour-saving devices which makes housework easier.
• Feminist View of Housework

  Reject 'March of Progress' view; family life is still unequal which stems from family and society being male-dominated or patriarchal. Women occupy a subordinate and dependent role within the family and wider society.
• Feminist View of Housework- Oakley 


  Criticises Young and Willmott; in her own research, she found some evidence of husbands helping at home- but no evidence towards a trend of symmetry. Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework, and only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare.
• Feminist View of Housework- Oakley (Childcare)


  Husbands being more likely to share in childcare (25%) than in housework (15%) is due to the more pleasurable aspects. Couples define a good father as someone who takes an 'interest' A good father is seen as someone who plays with the children in the evenings to take them off the mothers' hands. However, this means the mother loses the rewards of childcare, and are left with the housework.
• Feminist View of Housework- Boulton 


  Supports Oakley's findings; found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare- arguing that Young and Willmott exaggerate men's contribution by looking at the tasks involved in childcare, rather than the responsibilities. A father might help with specific tasks, but the mother is always the one responsible for the child's security and well-being.
• Feminist View of Housework- Warde and Hetherington 


  Found sex-typing of domestic tasks remained strong; e.g. wives were 30 times more likely to have been the last person to do the washing, while husbands were 3 times more likely to have washed the car.

  Finding males would only carry out routine 'female' tasks when their partners weren't present. Though they did find a slight change of attitude towards younger men; they no longer assumed women should do the housework, and were more likely to think they were doing less than their share.