Question 1

In the last half-century, the growth of women's employment contributed to conflicts between family and paid work obligations for various reasons, including the fact that

Accepted Answer

Single parents faced challenges in balancing paid and unpaid work due to the absence of a partner to share responsibilities.

Question 2

American workers have long aspired to balance which three things?

Accepted Answer

American workers have traditionally sought to balance work, rest, and leisure, aiming for a harmonious life that allows for productivity, relaxation, and personal enjoyment.

Question 3

The motherhood penalty is

Accepted Answer

The motherhood penalty refers to the economic loss or disadvantage that women face in the workplace after they become mothers, including lower wages and missed career opportunities, rather than stereotypes, weight gain, or postpartum depression.

Question 4

What trend in child care does the American Time Use Survey find in the last half-century?

Accepted Answer

The American Time Use Survey finds that both men and women have increased their time spent with children over the last half-century, reflecting changing social norms and possibly the influence of research emphasizing the importance of parental involvement in child development.

Question 5

In the late 1970s, only one-third of Americans thought that mothers' employment was not harmful for their preschool-aged children. Thirty years later, that proportion rose to two-thirds, illustrating

Accepted Answer

The increase in the proportion of Americans who believe that mothers' employment is not harmful to their preschool-aged children reflects a shift in societal attitudes towards gender roles and the division of labor between men and women, rather than the other options provided.

Question 6

When the welfare system was reformed in 1996, policymakers abandoned the assumption that

Accepted Answer

The 1996 welfare reform shifted the focus from providing income support to encouraging full-time work, moving away from the assumption that the government would provide income support instead of promoting employment.

Question 7

John works a paid job, and May primarily performs unpaid labor, such as taking care of the home and the children. What is one consequence of this situation?

Accepted Answer

May's work is often undervalued in economic terms because it does not generate direct income, leading to a lack of recognition for the essential roles she plays in maintaining the household and caring for the family.

Question 8

One reason that gender difference in housework has eroded over the last half-century is that

Accepted Answer

The total amount of time spent on housework has declined, which has contributed to the erosion of gender differences in housework.

Question 9

One of the advantages of time use studies, in which researchers investigate how people fill their days with activities, is that they

Accepted Answer

Time use studies are valuable because they capture all types of activities, including unpaid care work (like looking after children or elderly family members), which is often not recognized in traditional economic or labor statistics. This makes the often "invisible" care work visible and quantifiable.

Question 10

Which group has been identified by sociologists as having more traditional gendered divisions of labor?

Accepted Answer

Sociologists have identified that Christian groups, particularly those with conservative or fundamentalist beliefs, often adhere to more traditional gender roles and divisions of labor.

Question 11

The three main factors within couples' relationships that seem to account for the fact that women perform so much more unpaid work in the home are

Accepted Answer

The three main factors that account for the disparity in unpaid work performed by women in the home are time, resources, and gender. These factors influence the distribution of household responsibilities, with traditional gender roles often dictating that women take on a larger share of unpaid work, such as caregiving and household chores. Time availability, access to resources, and entrenched gender norms play significant roles in this dynamic.

Question 12

As sociologist Judith Lorber puts it, "Workplace pressures are thought to be unchangeable, so the burden of innovation falls on the ______."

Accepted Answer

The answer of As sociologist Judith Lorber puts it, "Workplace...

Question 13

Time use data show that married women have cut their housework time roughly in half over the last half-century, while men have

Accepted Answer

The answer of Time use data show that married women...

Question 14

The phenomenon in which women have seemingly endless housework and child care on top of hours of paid work is referred to by sociologist Arlie Hochschild as

Accepted Answer

The term "second shift" was coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild to describe the phenomenon where women, after completing a full day of paid work, return home to perform the bulk of housework and child care, effectively working a "second shift."

Question 15

When the time demands, strains, or obligations of work or family roles make it difficult for people to fulfill their obligations in either role, they experience

Accepted Answer

Work-family conflict occurs when the demands, strains, or obligations of work or family roles make it difficult for individuals to fulfill their obligations in either role, leading to stress and potential negative outcomes in both areas.

Question 16

The greater number of hours of paid work for men are, on average, balanced out by

Accepted Answer

The greater number of hours of paid work for men is typically balanced out by the greater hours of unpaid work for women, which includes household chores, caregiving, and other non-paid responsibilities.

Question 17

Although some people enjoy housework and child care, most prefer to avoid at least the more onerous aspects of those responsibilities. Therefore, when couples negotiate over who does what work, the partner who has a higher-paying job

Accepted Answer

The partner with a higher-paying job often has more decision-making power in negotiations over household responsibilities, as their greater financial contribution can be leveraged to influence the distribution of non-economic tasks.

Question 18

When asked why 25-year-old Joy does more housework than her 28-year-old husband, Jim, Joy said that Jim works longer hours and she therefore doesn't mind doing some extra work around the house. Joy's explanation is an example of what phenomenon?

Accepted Answer

Joy's explanation is an example of rationalizing the unequal division of labor between spouses, where one partner justifies doing more housework than the other based on circumstances such as work hours.

Question 19

The 1970s Wages for Housework campaign attempted to

Accepted Answer

The 1970s Wages for Housework campaign was a feminist movement that argued for the economic value of housework and caregiving, demanding that housewives be paid wages for their labor. This was based on the recognition of domestic work as essential, unpaid labor that supports the entire economy.

Question 20

Socialization means that the lessons learned in childhood are applied to the situations in which people find themselves as adults. This means that boys who grow up with an employed mother

Accepted Answer

Boys who grow up with an employed mother tend to observe and learn from the shared responsibilities at home, including housework. This exposure often leads to them being more participative in doing housework as adults, reflecting the socialization process where childhood lessons influence adult behavior.

Quiz 11: Work and Families