scholarly journals The role of job-related spatial mobility in the household division of labor within couples in Germany and Poland

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-330
Author(s):  
Heather Hofmeister ◽  
Lena Hünefeld ◽  
Celina Proch

This paper will examine the self-reported division of housework and childcare in Germany and Poland considering the job-related spatial mobility within dual-earner couples who are living in a household together with a partner, using 2007 data from the Job Mobility and Family Lives in Europe Project. We find that men who are spatially mobile for work often report shifting housework to their partners. Polish couples show a stronger tendency toward an egalitarian division of labor than German couples do, especially in terms of childcare. But the central finding of this research is, gender trumps national differences and spatial mobility constraints. Polish and German women, whether mobile for their work or not, report doing the majority of housework and childcare compared to their partners. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel untersucht die Aufteilung von Hausarbeit und Kinderbetreuung auf Basis von Selbsteinschätzungen berufsbedingt räumlichmobiler sowie nicht mobiler Befragter in Deutschland und Polen. Anhand von Daten des Projektes Job Mobility and Family Lives in Europe (2007) betrachten wir Personen, die mit ihrem Partner in einem Doppelverdienerhaushalt leben. So geben beruflich mobile Männer häufig an, die Hausarbeit auf ihre Partner zu übertragen. Polnische Paare zeigen eine stärkere Tendenz zu einer egalitären Arbeitsteilung als deutsche, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Kinderbetreuung. Das zentrale Ergebnis unserer Untersuchung ist jedoch, dass das Geschlecht sowohl Mobilitäts- als auch nationale Unterschiede überlagert. Sowohl polnische als auch deutsche Frauen, ob beruflich mobil oder nicht, übernehmen den Hauptanteil an der Hausarbeit und Kinderbetreuung.

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Nathalie Meuwly ◽  
Peter Wilhelm ◽  
Véronique Eicher ◽  
Meinrad Perrez

Although women’s relationship satisfaction is known to covary with satisfaction regarding couples’ division of housework and child care, the factors mediating these associations are rarely examined. To test the hypothesis that relationship conflict mediates the link between housework and relationship satisfaction, 207 dual-earner couples with young children completed questionnaires about their relationship and how they divided housework and child care. Most couples were satisfied with the division of labor, and women did most of the housework and child care. For husbands and wives, dissatisfaction with division of housework and child care was associated with more perceived conflicts, which in turn covaried with lower relationship satisfaction. Division of housework was more strongly associated with relationship satisfaction for women than for men, but there were no gender differences for the impact of child care responsibilities on relationship satisfaction. In general, subjective evaluation of the division of labor had stronger effects on relationship conflicts and satisfaction than the division of labor itself. Zusammenfassung In bisherigen Studien zeigte sich, dass vor allem bei Frauen die Zufriedenheit mit der Arbeitsteilung mit der Partnerschaftszufriedenheit zusammenhängt. Ungeklärt ist, ob dieser Zusammenhang durch eine Reduktion des Konfliktpotentials in der Partnerschaft vermittelt wird und welche Rolle dabei die tatsächliche Aufteilung der Familienarbeit spielt. 207 Schweizer Doppelverdiener-Paare mit Kleinkindern wurden anhand von Fragebogen zu Partnerschaft und Arbeitsteilung befragt. Die familiäre Arbeitsteilung wurde überwiegend als zufriedenstellend erlebt, dabei verrichteten mehrheitlich die Frauen die Hausarbeit und betreuten die Kinder. Bei beiden Partnern war eine geringere Zufriedenheit mit der Aufteilung von Hausarbeit und Kinderbetreuung mit häufigeren Konflikten assoziiert, welche wiederum mit einer geringeren Partnerschaftszufriedenheit zusammenhingen. Im Gegensatz zur Kinderbetreuung waren die Effekte der Arbeitsteilung der Hausarbeit auf die Partnerschaft stärker für die Frauen als für die Männer. Dabei war die subjektive Bewertung der Arbeitsteilung bedeutender für die berichteten Konflikte und die Partnerschaftszufriedenheit als die tatsächliche Arbeitsteilung.


Author(s):  
Roland Azibo Balgah ◽  
Fonteh Athanasius Amungwa ◽  
Bime Mary Juliet Egwu

The relevance of intra-household division of labor for overall household wellbeing is common knowledge, especially among development practitioners from the developing world. While division of labor acquired a newer impetus as a consequence of a strong and emerging gender narrative a few decades ago, its momentum seems to have been torpedoed by the comfort of gender mainstreaming; reducing the role of gender analyses in agricultural extension and sustainable development initiatives. We briefly revisit the gender evolution, and empirically apply Caroline Moser’s triple roles framework in order to rekindle the role of gender analyses in understanding and promoting targeted extension services and sustainable development. A cross sectional, empirical survey was carried out in the North West region of Cameroon from 7-30 October 2014. Two rural and urban divisions were purposively selected. One division had difficult road access, while the other was fairly accessible. Eight villages (four rural and four urban ones) were randomly selected from both divisions. Gender analyses using Moser’s triple roles framework were carried out separately in all villages, with groups of 30-35 self-selected men and women, facilitated by trained enumerators; and complemented with focused group discussions and key informant interviews. Wide differences between the productive, reproductive and socio-cultural roles in rural and urban communities were unveiled; with even stronger differences between men and women based on gendered results. As expected, more women were engaged in reproductive activities than men, irrespective of setting. Strong bias against women evident in the gender literature was not reported. The results emphasize the implications of regular gender analyses for development effectiveness. There is need for consistent gender analysis as prelude to improving agricultural extension initiatives, achieving gender balanced sustainable development of rural and urban areas in developing countries and upgrading development effectiveness. Context-specific aspects should be considered in informing gender based development actions and policy.


1981 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Aldous

HISTORICAL data indicate that dual-earner families are not a new phenomenon. Reasons for the apparent failure to take this tradition into account in the literature, as well as the interest in the dual-career segment among these families are discussed. Women's continuing commitment to family roles, as shown by their lesser attachment to the labor market in terms of full-time employment, is shown. The implications of this commitment to the issue of household division of labor is examined, along with the contributions the following articles make to the literature.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Donnelly ◽  
Radmila Prislin ◽  
Ryan Nicholls
Keyword(s):  

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ramona Bobocel ◽  
Russell E. Johnson ◽  
Joel Brockner

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chambers ◽  
Nick Epley ◽  
Paul Windschitl
Keyword(s):  

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Feldman

This paper is a contribution to the growing literature on the role of projective identification in understanding couples' dynamics. Projective identification as a defence is well suited to couples, as intimate partners provide an ideal location to deposit unwanted parts of the self. This paper illustrates how projective identification functions differently depending on the psychological health of the couple. It elucidates how healthier couples use projective identification more as a form of communication, whereas disturbed couples are inclined to employ it to invade and control the other, as captured by Meltzer's concept of "intrusive identification". These different uses of projective identification affect couples' capacities to provide what Bion called "containment". In disturbed couples, partners serve as what Meltzer termed "claustrums" whereby projections are not contained, but imprisoned or entombed in the other. Applying the concept of claustrum helps illuminate common feelings these couples express, such as feeling suffocated, stifled, trapped, held hostage, or feeling as if the relationship is killing them. Finally, this paper presents treatment challenges in working with more disturbed couples.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-243
Author(s):  
Irit Degani-Raz

The idea that Beckett investigates in his works the limits of the media he uses has been widely discussed. In this article I examine the fiction Imagination Dead Imagine as a limiting case in Beckett's exploration of limits at large and the limits of the media he uses in particular. Imagination Dead Imagine is shown to be the self-reflexive act of an artist who imaginatively explores the limits of that ultimate medium – the artist's imagination itself. My central aim is to show that various types of structural homologies (at several levels of abstraction) can be discerned between this poetic exploration of the limits of imagination and Cartesian thought. The homologies indicated here transcend what might be termed as ‘Cartesian typical topics’ (such as the mind-body dualism, the cogito, rationalism versus empiricism, etc.). The most important homologies that are indicated here are those existing between the role of imagination in Descartes' thought - an issue that until only a few decades ago was quite neglected, even by Cartesian scholars - and Beckett's perception of imagination. I suggest the use of these homologies as a tool for tracing possible sources of inspiration for Beckett's Imagination Dead Imagine.


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