Women help pay the bills
By Lnris Allertieiligen
Staff Reporter
There is an increase in the number
of women in the work force and this
trend is predicted to increase, said
Alan Booth, professor of sociology
and co-director of the Bureau of
Sociological Research.
He said that women are working
because they find work rewarding.
Women are also joining the labor
force because they need the money,
he said.
‘‘It’s getting harder and harder to
make a go of it on a single income,”
Booth said.
Paul Amato, associate professor
of sociology, said there are more
women in the work force, especially
with young children.
In 1950, 12 percent of working
women had children under the age of
five, Amato said.
In 1984, 59 percent of working
women had children between the
ages of three and five, 48 percent
with children under three, he said.
Amato said that there has been
some concern about the effects of
mothers in the labor force. He said
there have been many studies done
on the effects of working mothers on
their children.
‘‘These studies show that there
are no negative effects in general.
There can be some, however, if the
mom hates her job and gets de
pressed, which in turn could interfere
with her children,” he said.
Amato said that there can be some
positive effects on the children if the
mother works, especially on the |
daughters.
‘‘Girls tend to have higher self
esteems it tne motner works, the
mother gives the daughter a stronger
role model if she is successful and
enjoys her work,” he said.
Amato said that sons and daugh
ters will hold less traditional atti
tudes about women when their moth
ers work.
“The kids are doing fine when
their mothers work,” he said.
Sally Van Zandt, associate profes
sor of human development and the
family, said the best thing about both
parents working is the independency
of both parents and children.
Teenagers of two-career families
were surveyed in a study, she said.
Thirty-one percent of the teen
agers said having both parents work
ing gave them the opportunity to be
independent, she said.
She said forty-nine percent said
they liked the financial security of
having two incomes to support them.
Fifty-four percent said that their
parents gave them positive role
models and that they were proud of
their parents, she said.
Van Zandt said the sons saw their
moms as equals. The daughters saw
their mothers’ careers as the key to
happiness, she said.
Neither daughters nor sons saw
their moms as a servant to the family,
she said.
. Amato said with women working,
there has been a movement to a more
equalitarian society.
Women gain power in decision
making, status and prestige through
working, he said. This power is im
x>rtant in building a more equal
Kjciely, he said.
“When women are earning their
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own money, iney nave more say on
what goes on around the house, espe
cially financial decisions,” Amato
said.
Generally, the more money a
w oman makes, the more power she
has about decision-making, he said.
Amato said with the increase of
women in the labor forces, there has
been an increase in the divorce rate.
‘‘Women are more independent
when they work and feel that they can
support themselves without a hus
band,” he said.
A big problem that working
women face is pressure to do more,
Amato said.
Booth said that women are ex
pected to work in the labor force and
still do the household duties.
‘‘If the husband doesn’t help,
there is great strain on the relation
ship. If there are children and the
husband isn’t involved, this can
cause great depression and anxiety,”
Booth said.
Rebecca Stefan, assistant director
of the Psychology Conciliation Cen
ter, said many marital problems de
velop because someone in the rela
tionship thinks the other has more
power.
‘‘The wife is expected to keep up
to par if the husband makes more
money,” she said.
Another big problem that married
couples may face is in the area of
communication, she said.
‘‘Couples come in not knowing
how to communicate, sending each
other mixed messages or double
messages,” Stefan said.
‘ Don ’ t be a carpel bagger and pul
things (that bother you) under the
carpet,” Stefan said. “Express
things when they happen. Don’t
think they’ll get belter on their
own.”
She said that it’s best to attack
little problems as they come up rather
than wailing until things compound.
Van Zandt said there are nine
coping strategies for two-career
families.
She said that couples have to use
tension management techniques,
plus compromise, reorganize and
prioritize.
“Couples have to do important
things first,” she said.
She said that the money from the
two incomes can be used to relieve
the strain.
It is important to have friends that
also are involved in dual-career
families, she said.
Van Zandt said that couples must
balance cost and gain. Couples need
to balance personal fulfillment and
economical gain.
In order to cope, knowing older
couples that have been through dual
careers can help, she said.
4 ‘They can serve as role models,”
she said.
Couples also need to develop
problem-solving skills, Van Zandt
said.
She said couples need to share
with each other in non-judgmcntal,
non-blaming ways.
“Problems can be viewed as op
portunity to grow,” she said.
It is also very important to be
flexible, she said.
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Men change attitudes
By Chris Allerheiligen
Suff Reporter
The men’s movement has brought
on a slight change in the splitting of
household tasks, said Paul Amato,
associate professor of sociology.
‘ ‘ It is OK for a man to be sensitive
and a woman to be high-powered,”
he said.
Men, in response to the women’s
movement, have changed attitudes
on child care, household tasks and
nurturing of their children, Amato
said.
Many men believe that household
duties snould be fifty-fifty, but many
do not live what they believe, he said.
The behavioral change has been
very slight but positive, Amato said.
‘ ‘There has been a great change in
attitude, but not in behavior. Behav
ior has to catch up with attitude,” he
said.
Amato said of two-career house
holds in 1981, the woman spent an
average of 25 hours per week doing
housework and 10 hours on child
care. Her husband spent four and
one-half hours on housework and
five hours on child care.
Recent estimates of two-carccr
households show that the woman
does 70 percent of the housework
while the man does 30 percent,
Amato said.
He said the main change in men
has been in child care.
“Men are getting more involved
with their children,” he said. ‘‘This
is a small, but positive, shift.”
Sally Van Zandt, associate proles
sor of human development and the
family, said women and men are still
holding the traditional roles in house
maintenance.
“Most couples want equality but
the women are doing more because
society expects it,” she said.
If the woman has to do more
housework, then she has less time
and cannot do as much with her
spouse, Van Zandt said.
“Couples need to work out time
together versus lime doing house
work,” she said.
“The relationship should be
based on equity rather than equality.
The relationship should be fair.”
Rebecca Stefan, assistant director
of the Psychology Conciliation Cen
ter, said that it's best not to assume
the other partner’s role.
Many couples make the mistake
of assuming roles, setting the couple
up for a buildup of emotions that
could potentially explode, she said.
Sometimes couples see chores
differently, Stefan said.
The woman may see housework
as important and a mutual job for
both tnc husband and wife, she said.
The man, in turn, may see housework
as being something that has always
been done for him, she said.
Stefan said that communication is
important in avoiding problems.
“There’s nothing wrong with sit
ting down and looking at what needs
to be done and mutually decide on
importance and who does what,” she
said.