Resources and Decision Making

Question 1

Power and Decision Making

Answer 1

• linked to who controls the family’s income and who has the power to make decisions about how it is spent
• the power in the family is measured in terms of who makes the most decisions in the family
• in many households a woman has no entitlement to a share of household resources in her own right. As a result she is likely to see anything she spends on herself as money that ought to be spend on essentials for the children
• Even in households with apparently adequate incomes, resources may be shared unequally, leaving women in poverty

Question 2

Feminists Argument on Decision Making

Answer 2

• power in families is gendered and it tends to favour men because they tend to be the main decision makers

Question 3

Money Management Pahl and Vogler

Answer 3

identify two main types of control over family income:
Allowance System - where the men give their wives an allowance out of which they have to budget to meet the family’s needs. He controls the rest
Pooling System - both partners have access to income and joint responsibility.
- there is a move towards greater equality due to womens increasing participation in the labour market

Question 4

Criticisms of Pooling - Pahl and Vogler

Answer 4

• it’s often assumed that pooling indicates more equality in decision making and control over resources and it’s more common among couples where both partners work full time
• however where the pooled income is controlled by the husband, this tends to give men more power in major financial decisions.
• they found that even where there was pooling, the men usually made the major financial decisions and therefore had overall financial control
• in times of hardship it is women who cut back their clothes and food to shield the children and husband from hard times

Question 5

Edgell

Answer 5

• study of 38 professional m/c couples
  found that:
• men make less but more important decisions such as finance or moving houses were either taken by the husband alone or jointly with the husband having the final say
• women make more decisions but these are less important: food, holiday, children’s clothes, etc.
• the reason for this is because men earn more. Women are therefore dependant economically so they have less say in decision making
• the partner who makes most of the decisions is not necessarily the more powerful partner

Question 6

Laurie and Gershuny +C: Edgell

Answer 6

• found that women who were high earning, well qualified professionals were more likely to have an equal say

Question 7

Why do men tend to dominate decision making?

Answer 7

• They earn more
• among e/m it is more traditional for men to make decisions
• gender roles are deeply ingrained into men and women through gender socialisation

Question 8

Feminists - Cultural VS Decision Making

Answer 8

• inequalities are not simply the result in differences in earning
• in patriarchal society, the cultural definition of men as decision makers is deeply ingrained in both men and women and instilled through gender role socialisation.
• Until this is challenged decision making is likely to remain unequal
  this reflects society culture of gender inequality

Question 9

The Meaning of Money - Nyman

Answer 9

• money has no automatic, fixed or natural meaning
• different couples can define this in different ways
• these meanings can reflect the nature of the relationship

Question 10

A ‘Personal Life’ Perspective on Money

Answer 10

• this perspective focuses on the meanings couples give to who controls the money

Question 11

A ‘Personal Life’ Perspective on Money - Smart

Answer 11

• found that some gay men and lesbians attached no importance to who controlled the money and were perfectly happy to leave this to their partners. They did not see the control of money as meaning either equality or inequality in the relationship
• found that there is greater freedom for same sex couples to do what suits them as a couple. This is because they do not enter relationships with the same historical, gendered, heterosexual baggage of cultural meanings around money.
• they do not see money as a source of power

Question 12

A ‘Personal Life’ Perspective on Money - Weeks et al

Answer 12

• found that the typical pattern was pooling some money for household spending but together with separate accounts for personal spending.
• this money management thus reflects a value of co independence - where this is sharing, but where each partner remains control over some money and maintains a sense of independence.