This assignment allowed me to demonstrate my writing development skills as well as my ability to explore, understand, and use research to draw thoughtful conclusions. I researched families in our society by focusing on the question "what are women's roles within families?".

1. Literature Review
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Women’s Roles Within the Family
Literature Review
Eliza Paknya
University of Georgia
HDFS 2300
November 5, 2021

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Introduction
Ideas of gender roles have held strong in families throughout generations (Van De Vijver,
2007). In a traditional family model, gender roles are separated where women typically manage
the home, take care of the children, and facilitate emotional relationships, while men support the
family financially (Van De Vijver, 2007). This model may have proved to be functional prior to
women entering the workforce. However, it is reasonable to assume that overtime this model has
resulted in an uneven division of labor within the home. Over about 30 years, researchers have
investigated whether the traditional family model has shifted as determinants such as women’s
participation in the work force and education increases, and views on gender roles evolve. As
these shifts occur, it is important to review the effects they have on the distribution of
responsibilities and how having multiple roles may affect overall well-being. Strain from having
multiple daily demands and an imbalance of distribution of household responsibilities has been
linked to a decrease in well-being and satisfaction (Statistics Canada, 2006). As women take on
multiple roles within the family, it is important to review what determines those roles and how
they may affect them.
Body
Factors regarding determined gendered roles between parents are considered in this
review. Education level and employment status were found to be the best indicator of women’s
beliefs about gender-role equality (Van De Vijver, 2007). Even cross-culturally, women from
different socioeconomic status share similar ideas and expectations of gendered roles and how
these roles were practiced in the Pakistani culture (Ali, et al., 2011). Additionally, parent gender
and earner status were predictive when differentiating the level of responsibility, the parents took
for child-related tasks (Hillhouse, et al., 2003). Though, Biernat & Wortman (1991), found that

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even when parents had fairly equal jobs outside of the home, there was still a considerable
amount of inequality within the home. It is seen that the emphasis on stereotypes continue where
women are expected to present as communal, while men hold less household responsibility
(Ciciolla & Luthar, 2019. In recent years, there has been a shift on gender role norms, where men
are now contributing more to household chores and child related tasks more than before, but
women continue to hold majority of responsibilities, even if they are employed full time
(Ciciolla & Luthar, 2019).
With consideration of education level, socioeconomic status, and job level,
commonalities between distribution of responsibilities and health and well-being of parents were
prominent. This literature review will explore factors that affect the shared responsibilities
between parents, determine whether they continue to coincide with the traditional family model,
and learn how that plays a role in the overall well-being of mothers specifically.
Responsibilities
Despite the increasing number of women entering the labor force, women continue to
hold the majority of responsibility for domestic labor (Kiger & Riley, 1996). Domestic labor
includes household tasks, such as cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning the house, childcare, and
emotional labor, work that is typically done by women to share intimately with partners, manage
conflicts, and maintain relationships (Kiger & Riley, 1996). In a study considering husbands and
wives in dual-earner marriages, it was found that husbands preformed an average of 20 hours of
household labor per week, while wives preformed an average of 34 hours per week (Bartley, et
al., 2008). Ciciolla & Luthar (2019), notes that “despite men contributing more to housework and
childcare than ever before, women still manage most of the household's labor—even when
employed full-time—and gender differences in the amount of time spent on the household tend

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to be the greatest among couples with children” ( p. 467). Mothers are found to consistently have
higher levels of involvement with their children by spending more time in both physical and
nonphysical care, direct interactions, and responsibilities, while fathers participate more in
children’s play activities (Hillhouse, et al., 2003). In fact, it is argued that working mothers
complete a “second shift” of unpaid work after their paid job (Kiger & Riley, 1996). However,
research shows that the inequality of labor faced by working couples is likely due to traditional
gender role beliefs, socialized by generational expectations and examples of “traditional” roles
(Biernat & Wortman, 1991). In fact, data suggests that most spouses agree to the distribution of
labor and few view this as unfair, likely due to the sense of pride felt by mothers (Biernat &
Wortman, 1991; Kiger & Riley, 1996; Bartley, et al., 2008). Though, cross-culturally, in a more
egalitarian society such as Sweden, spouses disagree with this uneven distribution of
responsibilities and find that the division of domestic labor is actually unfair (Nordenmark, &
Nyman, 2003). Consequently, whether the distribution of labor is viewed as unfair or not,
responsibilities taken on my mother’s often lead feelings of role overload, potentially affecting a
mother’s wellbeing (Ciciolla & Luthar, 2019).
Well-Being
While there is evidence that shows women’s employment can improve a married
woman’s mental wellbeing, it is also evident that the stress of assuming multiple roles outweighs
those benefits, especially with children in the home (Biernat & Wortman, 1991). Studies show
that uneven distribution of work within the home, primarily physical labor, is related to
psychological distress, depression, role overload, and poor physical health in women (Ciciolla &
Luthar, 2019). In more extreme circumstances, such as Pakistan, where strict gender roles are
followed and women are viewed as subordinate to men, data shows women’s health is negatively

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impacted across their lifespan (Ali, et al., 2011). Uneven household demands and feelings of
subordination can result in stress, depression, powerlessness, and anxiety (Ali, et al., 2011; Kiger
& Riley, 1996). Additionally, mothers shouldering a greater responsibility of both the family and
the home, while still maintaining employment, are likely to face more work-family conflict
(Bartley, et al., 2008). This holds true in couples who have more egalitarian views on gender
roles as well (Bartley, et al., 2008). It was found that greater work-family conflict and
dissatisfaction in childcare has been associated with higher levels of stress in working mother,
though the division of household labor and emotional labor were not related to stress (Kiger &
Riley, 1996). Upon further investigation, it is found that childcare responsibilities have a large
effect on mothers. Working mothers with larger childcare responsibilities than men report higher
levels of stress, poorer quality of work, and feelings of guilt and low self-esteem (Beekman, et
al., 2008). Working mothers report greater stress when they encounter both her and her partners
work-family spill over and when the division of childcare is not even (Kiger & Riley, 1996).
Despite having greater responsibility in both the home and childcare efforts, women assess
themselves less favorably than men in their role-performance (Biernat & Wortman, 1991). In
fact, juggling both parenthood and work roles is associated with greater presence of anxiety and
depression disorders in women, but not men (Beekman, et al., 2008). Consequently, these
feelings of inequality, stress, and guilt have les to wives reporting greater dissatisfaction and
discontent in their marriages (Bartley, et al., 2008).
Discussion
From reviewing about 30 years of research regarding the roles women play within the
family, the historical, social, and cultural context of gender roles are considered, especially when
determining how they’ve changed as women entered the work force in greater numbers. It is

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shown that the traditional family model has continued to flourish, even in more egalitarian or
feminine countries of North-West Europe (Van De Vijver, 2007, p. 814). Despite seeing an
increase of working mothers, women remain to have the primary responsibility of housework
and childcare. Even when couples hold non-traditional gender role attitudes, wives are found to
still shoulder primary responsibility within the home (Bartley, et al., 2008). It is suggested that
because of social expectations and interactions, gender roles are created by both men and women
through daily interaction, cause this uneven division of labor between spouses to be seen as fair
(Bartley, et al., 2008; Crouter, et al.,1992). Even though spouses may not recognize the
unfairness in the gendered roles, the research does. Working mothers suffer from greater risk of
stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of guilt than their male counterparts (Beekman, et al.,
2008). Working mothers face greater conflicts of work-family demands and childcare
responsibilities resulting in feelings of dissatisfaction experienced by wives (Bartley, et al.,
2008). And finally, performing “double duties” of both household responsibilities and workplace
responsibilities lead to working mothers feeling a sense of role overload (Kiger & Riley, 1996).
Despite these results, the literature missed consideration of diverse family models. The research
found covered heterosexual marriages only. Consideration of same sex marriages, children
related in other ways than birth, caring for other family members, divorce, etc. was not taken.
Gaps in this field of study would be considering families who have help in household tasks, such
as nannies, housekeepers, cooks, etc.
Summary
Studies show the traditional gender ideologies remain true when examining the division
of responsibilities between dual-earner parents both cross-culturally and cross-generationally,
despite ideas of evolving views on gender roles. Regardless of husbands increasing their

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household involvement, wives continue to do about twice as much domestic labor and different
kinds of household than their spouses (Bartley, et al., 2008). Both ends of the spectrum, that
being households in households in Pakistan, where very traditional gender roles are followed
strictly, and Sweden, where non-traditional gender roles are recognized, show that families in
both countries follow a model where women have a much larger responsibility for the home and
children than the men do (Nordenmark, & Nyman, 2003; Ali et al., 2011). Consequently,
women’s roles within the family can bear much more weight. This is because women in the
family are responsible for not only their own professional lives, but domestic labor such as
cooking, cleaning, household tasks, etc. emotional labor like partner conflicts and maintain
relationships, and childcare arrangements (Kiger & Riley, 1996). This inequality of labor
between spouses has led to mothers experiencing effects on their overall well-being. This can
look like role overload, dissatisfaction of the marriage, feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt and
low self-esteem (Beekman, et al., 2008). Women continue to hold a large, important role within
families. However, the inequalities they face, whether recognized or not, proves to be
detrimental.

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References
Ali, T.S., Krantz, G., Gul, R., Asad, N., Johansson, E., & Mogren, I. (2011). Gender roles and
their influence on life prospects for women in urban Karachi, Pakistan: A qualitative
study. Global Health Action, 4(1).
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/gha.v4i0.7448
Bartley, S.J., Blanton, P.W., & Gilliard, J.L. (2008). Husbands and wives in dual-earner
marriages: Decision-making, gender role attitudes, division of household labor, and
equity. Marriage and Family Review, 37(4), 69-94.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J002v37n04_05
Biernat, M., & Wortman, C.B. (1991). Sharing of home responsibilities between professionally
employed women and their husbands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
60(6), 844-860. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1991-27211-001
Ciciolla, L. & Luthar S.S. (2019). Invisible household labor and ramifications for adjustment:
Mothers as captains of households. Sex Roles, 81, 467-486.
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Nordenmark, M., & Nyman, C. (2003). Fair or unfair? Perceived fairness of household division
of labour and gender equality among women and men: The Swedish case. European
Journal of Women’s Studies, 10(2), 181-209.
https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/17124977.pdf

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Perry-Jenkins, M., Seery, B., & Crouter, A.C. (1992). Linkages between women’s provider-role
attitudes, psychological well-being and family relationships. Psychology of Women
Quarterly, 16(3), 311-329.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1992.tb00257.x
Plaisier, I., De Bruijn, J.G.M., Smit, J.H., De Graaf, R., Ten Have, M., Beekman, A.T.F., Van
Dyck, R., Penninx, B.W.J.H. (2008). Work and family roles and the association with
depressive and anxiety disorders: Differences between men and women. Journal of
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Phares, V. (2003). Mothers, fathers, gender role, and time parents spend with their
children. Sex Roles, 48, 305-315
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Statistics Canada. (2006). Converging Gender Roles.
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mothers. The Social Science Journal, 33(2), 183-191.
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Van De Vijver, F.J.R. (2007). Cultural and gender differences in gender-role beliefs, sharing
household task and child-care responsibilities, and well-being among immigrants and
majority members in the Netherlands. Sex Roles, 57, 813-824.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-007-9316-z