How Gender and Work Type Influence Traditional Family Gender Attitudes in Japan.

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Gender Inequality

Abstract

Both precarious employment levels and support for gender equity within the family have risen in developed economies in recent years. Although changes to the macro-level employment structure are typically associated with attitudinal shifts regarding family gendered roles, the specific effects of precarious employment patterns on these attitudes remain understudied. The Japanese cultural environment is characterized by low levels of gender equity relative to other highly developed economies; Japan therefore offers fertile ground for investigating relationships between labor market conditions and gendered role attitudes. Using General Social Survey data from Japan (N = 4,258), we examine the effects of gender and work type on attitudes regarding traditional family gendered roles. Using a structural equations model to explore this interaction, we find gender and work-type differences in attitudes toward traditional family gendered roles. Specifically, professional working women and precarious working men are more likely to hold non-traditional family gendered values relative to their same-gender counterparts. We discuss why these results are important along with limitations and suggestions for future research.

Authors

• Gilbert Richard Wolford, University of Oklahoma

• Erik Lawrence Bond, University of Oklahoma

• Martin P. Piotrowski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill