How Family’s Traditional Division of Responsibilities Has Changed

Women were traditionally known of taking care of household chores and children at all times. During this time, men were anticipated to be the income earners in the family. Only men cared on where the family money should come from and only women cared on how the household chores should be completed. The situation has however changed greatly in the modern world. Women roles in the society started to change during the industrial revolution. This is when women started formal employment, employment of house help, and family planning to get more time to work. However, only a few women took the initiative of taking formal employment. The situation has changed greatly since then. Today, parents are educating girls to get top jobs in the market. Women are getting promotions and climbing up the professional ladder just like men. This has resulted to the change of situation at homes, where financial duties are currently being shared by both husband and wife. This is changing the tradition division of labor in families. Earning made women more superior than they were in the traditional world. However, this has not automatically earned them an equal position as their husbands in their homes. According to feminist scholars, major features of contemporary families and households areas show that women frequently subordinate for instance in children rearing and in making major decisions regarding how to take care of children (Strong& Cohen,2013).

Although there have been changes on the women’s position in a household, there have not been much changes on women’s roles and contribution, compared to traditional families. Time may have changed but the feeling that a man should be the head and the woman should subordinate is still exercised in various families. According to the results of a research conducted by Veronica Tichenor; a sociologists, women prefer being dominated by their husbands (Strong& Cohen, 2013). This especially happens in families where women earnhigher salary than that their husbands. This mostly happens as a precaution to ensure that the husbands do not feel dominated by their wives due to higher financial power. Women according a qualitative study conducted on African American couples tend to give their men a chance to exercise their power at home, especially when they feel that their men lack status and recognition in the society (Strong& Cohen, 2013). This means that despite the notion of change, women are still willing to be dominated by men as a way of restoring or maintaining men’s self-confidence and self-esteem. This is also said to maintain peace in a marriage or to reduce marital conflicts. It also demonstrates that most women would not want to feel that they are married to weak men and hence they would hardly want to dominate them. This is mostly done as a way of preserving men’s ego.

There has been change in the women economic status in the modern families. However, the change in the division of roles and duties has not been highly felt. Women are currently being involved in making financial decisions. However, the final decision on what should be done depends on the many factors. According to the critiques of resource theory of powers, women participation in financial decisions making does not guarantee them an upper hand in the process. Men always use their influence to ensure that their wives comply with their decisions by making them consider different consequences (Strong& Cohen, 2013). Nevertheless, most men have left the role on household financial decision making to their wives, despite of whether they are employed or not. Thus, the notion that the change of women status in the society has enhanced equal division of work, in their family is not exactly true. Men have remained to dominate in their households, such that women have to compromise in most cases than men would ever do.

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