Earning more and getting less : why successful wives can't buy equality / Veronica Jaris Tichenor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tichenor, Veronica Jaris, 1963-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Marriage--Psychological aspects.

Marriage.

Equality--Psychological aspects.

Equality.

Married people--Psychology.

Married people.

Sex differences (Psychology).

Power (Social sciences).

Wages--Women.

Wages.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (238 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For nearly two decades the wage gap between men and women has remained virtually unchanged. Women continue to earn, on average, 80 cents for every dollar that men earn. Yet despite persistent discrimination in wages, studies are also beginning to show that a growing number of women are out-earning their husbands. Nationwide, nearly one-third of working women are the chief breadwinners in their families. The trend is particularly pronounced among the demographic of highly educated women. Does this increase in earnings, however, equate to a shift in power dynamics between husbands and wives? In Earning More and Getting Less, sociologist Veronica Jaris Tichenor shows how, historically, men have derived a great deal of power over financial and household decisions by bringing home all (or most) of the family's income. Yet, financial superiority has not been a similar source of power for women. Tichenor demonstrates how wives, instead of using their substantial incomes to negotiate more egalitarian relationships, enable their husbands to perpetuate male dominance within the family. Weaving personal accounts, in-depth interviews, and compelling narrative, this important study reveals disturbing evidence that the conventional power relations defined by gender are powerful enough to undermine hierarchies defined by money. Earning More and Getting Less is essential reading in sociology, psychology, and family and gender studies.

Contents:

Higher-earning wives : swimming against the tide

Thinking about gender and power in marriage

Gendered bargain : why wives can't trade their money for housework

Dollar rich and power poor : why wives don't control the money

Calling the shots : why wives' decision-making power is limited

Negotiating identity and power

Are they happy? : managing tensions and disappointments

Floating along for the ride? : higher-earning wives and the prospects for gender change.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-211) and index.

ISBN:

1-280-46290-6

9786610462902

0-8135-3788-6

OCLC:

799765828