need a reading response. ( two pages, in 5 hours)

11/1/2017 Yuzu: Psychology of Gender: Fourth Edition

https://reader.yuzu.com/#/books/9781317345046/cfi/6/42!/4/2/2/12/4@0:0 1/2

To test the theoretical model shown in Figure 12.4, Rosenfield (1992) examined psychological distress in 172 married couples. Women were more distressed than men. There were no differences in the distress levels of husbands whose wives worked versus husbands whose wives did not work. Thus, wives’ employment per se did not affect men’s distress. However, to the extent that wives’ employment decreased husbands’ relative income, men’s distress levels increased. Men’s distress levels also increased if they shared household chores. The effect of family demands was greater than the effect of reduced relative income on men’s distress. Thus, wives’ employment alone did not influence husbands’ distress, but husbands’ distress increased to the extent that wives’ employment decreased husbands’ relative income and increased husbands’ family demands. Rosenfield also noted that relative income and household demands were inversely related, meaning that those who had more power (i.e., higher relative income) probably used that power to avoid household tasks. Another study supported the relative income aspect of the model: An increase in women’s relative income over time was associated with an increase in women’s psychological well-being, but a decrease in men’s psychological well-being (Rogers & DeBoer, 2001).

Thus, one feature of women’s employment that has implications for the family just as it had implications for women’s and men’s health is the wife’s income—especially relative to the husband’s income. Although men are still more likely than women to be the sole wage earner or to earn more money than women, it is no longer unusual for women to make more money than men. In the year 2000, 11% of wives were the primary income providers, 27% made equal contributions to family incomes, and 60% contributed less than 40% to the family income (Winslow-Bowe, 2009). Among dual-earner couples in 2008, 26% of women and 60% of men earned more than 10% more than their spouses (Galinsky et al., 2009). Women are less likely to be major contributors to family income when there are children in the home. These figures largely characterize White women, as African American women are more likely to be primary income providers or co-providers. The race differences stem in part from the fact that African American women have a longer history of participating in the paid labor force and in part from the fact that African American men face great difficulties entering the paid labor force.

What is the effect of women’s rise in relative income on family relationships? One study showed that the changes in income disparity between husband and wife over a two-year period had no implications for wives’ marital satisfaction but strong implications for husbands’ marital satisfaction (Brennan, Barnett, & Gareis, 2001). A decrease in the disparity in income (men’s higher than women’s) was associated with a decrease in men’s marital satisfaction, especially among men who said they valued the monetary aspects of their jobs. Thus an increase in women’s relative income compared to that of men may be most problematic for men who have traditional gender-role attitudes and define the male role as the breadwinner.

Another feature of women’s paid work that has implications for the family is how many hours a week women work. One study showed that there were negative effects on marriage when women worked more than 40 hours a week (Hyde, DeLamater, & Hewitt, 1998). By contrast, a study of female physicians showed that more hours of paid employment was associated with higher marital quality (Barnett & Gareis, 2002). The reason seemed to be that husbands were more involved in household labor when women worked longer hours. Thus, again, the effects of women working outside the home and how many hours they work outside the home are related to the control models shown in Figures 12.3 and 12.4. To understand the full effect of women working outside the home, one has to take into consideration the effects on domestic labor and relative income.

It is also important to consider whether the couple wants the woman to be working. Women may be working due to choice or due to economic necessity. When women are employed out of economic necessity rather than choice, they are less happy with their marriages (Perry-Jenkins, Seery, & Crouter, 1992). Women and men with traditional values also may be less happy when women are engaged in paid employment. There also may be problems when women and men do not agree as to whether women should be working outside the home. Conduct Do Gender 12.1 to find out college students’ attitudes toward married women’s paid employment.

Retirement Imagine you are 55 years old, work full time, and make $100,000 a year. Your boss calls you into her office and says you can stop working, keep your salary for two years, and then earn two-thirds of your salary for the rest of your life. Would you retire? The incentives to retire can be strong in some industries.

11/1/2017 Yuzu: Psychology of Gender: Fourth Edition

https://reader.yuzu.com/#/books/9781317345046/cfi/6/42!/4/2/2/12/4@0:0 2/2

DO GENDER 12.1 Attitudes Toward Married Women’s Paid Employment

Interview a group of women and men about whether they would be in favor of a married woman working outside the home. Start out by asking women the very simple question, “If you get married, how much would you want to work outside the home?” For men, ask how much they would want their wife to work outside the home. Use a scale such as 1 = not at all to 5 = very much.

Then, see if you can figure out what conditions influence women’s and men’s responses. Are there personality characteristics that influence support for married women working, such as whether their mothers worked or whether they have traditional gender-role attitudes? Are there characteristics of the situation that influence support, such as the presence of children, the number of children, and the age of children? What if the woman worked more than 40 hours per week? What if she made more money than her husband did? Come up with some of your own qualifications. The goal is to try to describe how supportive women and men are today of married women working outside the home and what limitations there are to people’s support.

As a greater portion of our population moves into retirement, this period of life is receiving more attention. Retirement can take a variety of forms. Some people phase in their retirement by reducing the hours they work, whereas others opt for an abrupt retirement. Because people are living longer, elderly people can consider working after age 65. A greater proportion of the elderly in the workforce, however, reduces the number of