Family 12

Changing gender roles in families

Some sociologists argue that the roles of men and women in families have changed quite significantly since the 1960s. Other approaches disagree with this view.

Gender roles and relationships in families have changed since the 1960s

• Young and Willmott (1973) argued that the ‘symmetrical family’ was now typical in Britain and conjugal roles were more shared
• Young and Willmott (1973) also found that financial decisions were shared more equally
• Pahl (1989) found that compared with 30 years ago, more couples shared financial household income decisions
• Gatrell (2008) found that many fathers in dual-earning couples today play a bigger role in their children’s’ lives compared with those  of the past
• …