Happy Homemakers? A Comparison of Male and Female Homemakers and Breadwinners

• In Event: 054 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 18. The Division of Labor

Abstract

I consider the characteristics, family context, and probable motivations of female and male homemakers. Both popular and academic profiles of male homemakers (or “stay-at-home fathers”) portray predominately middle-class or upper middle-class men. However, extant research on male homemakers relies on small convenience samples, potentially biasing understanding of male homemaker’s typical personal and family characteristics. Reliance on convenience samples of male homemakers also precludes comparison of these men to female homemakers and to breadwinning men and women. I fill this gap in the literature by using nationally-representative datasets to examine homemakers and breadwinners of both genders. I use US Census and American Community Survey data to identify trends in female and male homemaking over time and to evaluate the socioeconomic characteristics of homemakers and their families. I use longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income dynamics to examine the individual-level and relationship-level characteristics predicting women’s and men’s transition to homemaking. I use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to evaluate social-psychological welfare, family attitudes, and satisfaction with parenting.

Author

• Elizabeth Aura McClintock, University of Notre Dame