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Revisiting Measurements of Gender Inequality: Is Family Decision Making Power?

Mon, August 14, 4:30 to 6:10pm, Palais des congrès de Montréal, Floor: Level 5, 513E

Abstract

Do ‘final say’ survey questions measure power within families? Researchers rely on these items as proxy indicators of gender inequality within households, although there are reasons to doubt decision making is equated with power. I review relative resources and exchange theory predictions about decision making and two potential moderators: the gender system and methods of allocating income. Using original data (n = 3,975) from a vignette-survey experiment to disentangle the mechanisms leading to decision making authority, I find higher relative earners within families are not regarded as entitled to the final word in decisions. Whether respondents considered earnings individually or community owned did not explain the lack of association between financial resources and decision making clout. Findings show a significant association between the decider’s gender and perceptions of fairness: specifically, when women were presented as the decider over monetary family choices, unilateral decision making was viewed more favorably. Results from the qualitative analysis of the reasoning behind these evaluations were consistent with beliefs in egalitarian essentialism, that women and men are equal but characteristically different. Findings suggest ‘final say’ measures should be interpreted cautiously as markers of power and offers insights into why gender equality within families remains stalled.

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