Gender Roles and Psychological Differences

Running head: CHANGES IN FAMILY ROLES IN SOCIETY TODAY

Changing Family Roles Assignment

Meena Bhangu

Douglas College

Introduction

      In the past generation, families in general have encountered a massive change when it comes to the increase in married women’s paid employment outside the home. Nowadays, women who are married work outside the home and are responsible for the roles that a typical married women must play, which includes for all the unpaid work in the home. Unpaid work refers to all the duties a wife or a mother is supposed to play, such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and taking care of the kids. Since more women are working outside the home being a second source for income, child day care centers are highly emphasized. Also, since women now are working outside the home, families including the husband and children now turn to fast-food restaurants to make up for the meals the women used to make.
      The impact of married women now working, has taken great effect on the division of household labor one used to complete or perform. Since women are out working in various work places, who then completes all the housework? “The most recent study finds women doing more housework and spending more time on child care than men, whether it be on a workday or when off work.” (Schaefer & Haaland, 2006) Arlie Hochschild, a sociologist, explains the phrase “second shift” to describe the double load that women have to carry. Second shift refers to the work a woman has to perform outside the home, which would be paid, then also coming back from work and spending time on unpaid work, which includes child care. Since women have such busy schedules, there are more chances of certain aspects in their life going wrong. Women are more prone to go through stress than men are because men have less hectic schedules and have less to worry about. Furthermore, the impact of married women now working more has reduced the number of children a woman may...