Division of Labour. Sociology Powerpoint

A power point for the AQA sociology specification on the domestic division of labour

1. Domestic Division of Labour Mr Hafeez Starter: Make a list of as many domestic tasks or chores as you can think of. Now think of who performs these tasks the most in your household. Write down next to each task what gender does them the most. OBJECTIVES  To explain the sociological idea of the division of labour.  Analyse perspectives on the division of domestic labour  Evaluate the concept of the division of domestic labour

2. What Is The Division of Domestic Labour? Domestic Division of Labour: the division of tasks within the household between partners Biology? So why does it occur? Socialisation? Capitalism? Rational? Is the division of labour equal in contemporary society?

3. Why is it important to study? Highlights unequal treatment and expectations within society. ONS (2016) valued unpaid domestic labour at over £1 trillion a year with women accounting for over £700 billion of this. Insight into everyday mechanisms of gender norms and values and their wider effect. Builds into wider exploration of the effect gender has on work as well as more macro level dynamics

4. Conjugal Roles Elizabeth Bott () Look back at your lists, make a note at which tasks might be shared. Conjugal Roles: Roles within marriage. Segregated conjugal roles: The couple have separated roles: a male ‘breadwinner ’ and a female ‘homemaker’ . Their leisure activities also tend to be separate. Joint conjugal roles: The couple perform both roles and spend their leisure time together

5. The Key Perspective’s Views Perspective Why does the Unequal Division of labour exist? Key Ideas/Findings Key Studies Functionalist Feminist Post-Modernist Marxist Other Biological. Women are more suited for caring and domestic roles. Instrumental Role: Public. Breadwinning, main income earner. Male Expressive: Private. Home-maker, Childcare. Female Parsons (1955) Social. March of Progress: The DDoL is becoming more equal. Symmetrical Family: Where the Division of labour is shared equally. Young and Wilmott (1973) Social. Dual Burden. Even when both partners are in paid work women still end up doing around % of domestic tasks Oakley () Captilism . Captilism . Social.

6. Parsons (1955): The Functionalist Perspective Parson argues that women are biologically suited to an expressive caring role. It benefits men (caring, supportive home) and children (socialised, cared for) women (fulfils their caring natures) and society (provides stability). Expressive role: Performed in the private sphere of unpaid domestic labour , childrearing and caring for family members. Involves emotion, attachment & subjectivity. Instrumental role: Breadwinner Performed in the public sphere of paid work, politics and decision-making. Involves rationality, detachment & objectivity.

7. “March of Progress” Perspective Parsons wrote his theories in the 1955 his work is often considered more antiquated. Young and Wilmott (1973) suggest that since then there has been a “March of Progress” with men now performing more and more domestic tasks. Young and Wilmott (1973) noted that as times went on, there was more more equality in the division of labour. In their theory, family’s would eventually become “ Symmetrical Families ” Symmetrical family: the roles of husband and wife are not identical but now much more similar.

8. Feminist Perspective Feminists believe that the unequal division of labour is a symptom of the patriarchy assigning housework to be a “feminine” trait. A process known as “gender-coding” Through socialisation we are taught to find words such as “housewife” to be normal and “house-husband” to be strange. Feminists argue that the division of labour is but another way for the patriarchy to control the autonomy of women by pushing her out of “public” instrument roles and into the “private” expressive roles of tending to a home away from society. Any examples of how this socialisation might occur?

9. Feminist Perspective Anne Oakley (1974) criticised the viewpoint of a march of progress. In her 40 interviews she found that women who were working 30 hours or more still ended up doing the majority of housework. Oakley referred to this as the dual burden since women who performed an instrumental role were still expected to perform the majority of expressive domestic work. Other key findings: - The majority of participants found housework “monotonous” - 80% of women found housework dissatisfying - Many said they suffered from isolation and loneliness - The average working week was 77 hours “Despite a reduction of gender differences in the occupational world in recent years, one occupational role remains entirely feminine: the role of housewife. No law bans men from this occupation, but the weight of economic, social and psychological pressures is against their entry to it. The equation of femaleness with housewifery is basic to the structure of modern society.” – Oakley (1974)

10. Feminist Perspective Triple Shift, Paid work, domestic tasks and emotional work Emotional Work Description. Even in dual earner relationships

11. Homosexual Couples and Labour Dunne (1999) argues that the traditional division of domestic labour exist because our gender scripts is based on patriarchal ideology. Think, Pair, Share: Does this support or discredit any aspects of the “march of progress”? Dunne found in her study of 37 cohabitating lesbian couples (with dependent children) that domestic division of labour does not exist. There relationships were based around equality. However, level of income did affect this. The less one partner made the more domestic work they had to do.

12. Post-Modernist Perspective Post-Modernist believe that in the current age, people are free to pick and choose their roles within a relationship due to a collapse in

13. Marxist Perspective Marxists Feminists Post-Modernist: “the new man” and March of Progress (note date of the study. Very slow march of progress.)

14. Contemporary Times Covid made Work from home more popular. Has had a slight effect in how much men do at home Toxic Masculinity: Resurgence of traditional rhetoric among certain groups particularly among younger demographics. Higher Female initiated Divorce Mcmunn et al (2020) using survey data from over 5000 British households found that: Women do around 16 hours of domestic labour while men do around 6 In 93% of couples women did the bulk of such tasks Only 6% of couples had a even split Only 1% of couples had men do more domestic chores

15. The Future European Stats- Zero in on Nordic states. Social policy. Socialisation. Despite not being perfect, women who were the primary breadwinner did do less housework than housewives. More and more women are in high value careers a trend on the increase. Should help balance it out.

16. Evaluate the view that the division in labour in couples is now equal. (20 Marks) WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR: PEEEL paragraph explaining one consequence. Specific knowledge and details. Use of explaining connectives: Consequently… Thus… This meant that… This led to… As a result… So… WORKED EXAMPLE POINT EVIDENCE EXPLANATION EVALUATION LINK Practice Question

17. Practice Question European Stats- Zero in on Nordic states. Social policy. Socialisation. Despite not being perfect, women who were the primary breadwinner did do less housework than housewives. More and more women are in high value careers a trend on the increase. Should help balance it out.

18. Feminist Perspective “Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day. The housewife wears herself out marking time: she makes nothing, simply perpetuates the present … Eating, sleeping, cleaning – the years no longer rise up towards heaven, they lie spread out ahead, gray and identical. The battle against dust and dirt is never won.” – Simone De Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1949