World War 1 played a significant part in developing women's political rights in both positive and negative ways. World War one may have foiled the drive by women to gain political rights just as much or even more so then it helped. Pre war women did have working opportunities though very little compared to men, as they were seen as weaker and that their place was in the "home". Their employment was limited to the domestic service (cleaning or working as a servant) and secretarial work and not manual labor in factories or working class women often worked in the textiles industry. Women were lower paid and were restricted to do less skilled work, as they were considered incompetent.
Feminists criticise Willmott and Young who suggested that we are currently in ‘The symmetrical family stage’ where chores are shared equally between the women and men. Feminists argue we are not in this stage as women still do the majority of housework. This is backed up by Anne Oakley’s finding that only 15% of men have a high level of participation in housework. Radical feminists argue that the patriarchal system needs to be overturned and to do this, women must learn to live independently. Delphy and Leonard (1992) argued that the inequalities between partners in the home are a result of the fact that the head of the household is almost always male.
Using sociological evidence, examine the view that domestic labour is shared equally within the modern family Domestic Labour is household tasks. It includes cleaning, cooking and childcare. These roles are divided between men and women, Young and Willmott 1973 carried out a study which they say that domestic work is being share more equally and women were getting a fairer deal. The British Social Attitudes Survey (BSAS) also carried out several surveys and they also found that families and relationships are becoming more symmetrical. Both say that the family is becoming a symmetrical family.
However, radical feminists disagree. They believe that women still face much oppression in the family. They show that one in five women suffer domestic violence in the family, many suffer sexual violence or at least have their sexual desires taken less seriously than mens; they also note that few empirical studies show men as equal to women in domestic labour (Oakley, Dunscombe and marsden) nor do men appear to be allowing women an equal say in decision making (Edgell) or in financial control (Pahl). Functionalists and the new Right take issue with radical feminists’ suggestion that women need to live without men as the New Right believe that only a man can act as a satisfactory role model for male children and give the children the discipline they need to be well socialised. They disregard the feminists demand for equality in conjugal roles as they believe that a division of labour where woman focus upon the home is instinctive, natural and functional.
Gender Inequality: Gender-inequality theories recognize that women's location in, and experience of, social situations are not only different but also unequal to men's. Liberal feminists argue that women have the same capacity as men for moral reasoning and agency, but that patriarchy, particularly the sexist patterning of the division of labor, has historically denied women the opportunity to express and practice this reasoning. Women have been isolated to the private sphere of the household and, thus, left without a voice in the public sphere. Even
According to Parsons, husbands are the breadwinners and the wife has the nurtring and caring role and that this is based on biological differences between the sexes, a view shared by the New Right. However, this can be criticised using Willmott and Young’s findings, which show that men are now doing the housework and women are going out to work. This shows that family roles are socially constructed and hence not fixed as our society is always changing. Feminists such as Anne Oakley have criticised Willmott and Young’s finding’s stating that they are methodically flawed. She found that only a small minority of men did a significant amount of housework and childcare.
Elizabeth Bott conducted a lot of research into conjugal roles and came up with the term ‘joint conjugal role’ which means that the couple share the housework and the childcare. This type of relationship has become much more common since the 1970’s, this suggests that there is more equality between men and women in domestic labour and gender roles. Controversially, Bott discussed segregated conjugal roles, the ‘instrumental role’ played by the man, meaning he provides for the family by going to work whilst the women play the ‘expressive role’ meaning that they cook, clean and look after the
Women are often seen as less significant than males, as both genders age, stereotypes are placed for them. Males are seen as strong, dominant, rational, independent, and less concerned with their appearance. Whereas females are labeled as weak, emotional, nurturing, dependent, and more worried about the way they look. Due to these issues, females have a hard time being seen as successful in their lives, they often depend on the males for necessities needed in life, and because of this getting an education and a well payed job is tough for women. Also depending on what class you originate from and being a female can be seen as disastrous for their lives, the government sees them as less important and less valuable then men.
The sole provider in a single parent home often does not have the ability to work a full time job or rather obtain a job with a high paying salary. Risman states, “Women who become single mothers are especially likely to have inadequate wages… because the shortage of publicly subsidized child care makes it difficult for them to work full time.” Although single parent households with the provider working full time has a much higher chance of not living in poverty, working full-time, as Thompson states in her article, leaves less time to spend with your child. This leads to my next point. Financial stress can also lead to improper child development, education, and social exposure. To give a hypothetical example,
Many professionals today are asked to influence in situations where they formal authority. Results, in these situations, are still achieved only with the willing cooperation of others. According to Kevin Kelleher (2006), a company’s success is dependent upon others. People may, or may not, choose to act interdependently. This creates both a challenge and an opportunity to lead.