Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This project explored the decline of the 'male breadwinner' model of the articulation of employment and family life, in which men were responsible for market work and women for unpaid caring. As women increasingly enter employment, has the gendered division of labour (understood as incorporating both paid and unpaid work) been shifted as a consequence and have gender relations within the family changed? Are women able to realise their individual aspirations, and has an increase in women's employment been followed by greater equality in money management between partners? As the work of caring is increasingly transferred out of the 'private' sphere, how have institutions, families and employers adapted to this new situation? Are adaptations in some countries more successful than in others? In order to answer these questions, a cross-national comparative analysis was necessary. Thus, the project formed part of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2002 module, Family and Changing Gender Roles III. The module concerned included a series of questions relating to work-life conflict as well as attitudes to gender roles and working mothers, and the allocation of money within the household. Some extra questions were included in the ISSP project (fielded in Britain, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Norway and Portugal) and a resulting harmonised seven-country data set was generated. The ISSP is conducted by the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Data Archive for the Social Sciences (GESIS), based in Cologne, Germany. The full ISSP Family and Changing Gender Roles III dataset is available to order via the UK Data Archive - see under SN 5018. It is recommended that users order the full dataset to use alongside this one. In the case of Britain, a further set of questions were added to the ISSP module, and thus a separate file of extended British data is included in this dataset. The British questions focused on working conditions and individual promotion aspirations. They were piloted alongside the British Social Attitudes Survey, 2002 (BSA - held at the Archive under SN 4838), conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). Users should note that the documentation for this study includes only the questionnaire. Details of sampling and other methodology may be found in the documentation for the relevant BSA 2002 (see under SN 4838) and ISSP studies. A previous study by the same principal investigator on a similar topic, Women's Employment and Family Life in the United Kingdom, Norway, France, Czech Republic and Russia, 1996-1997, is also held at the Archive under SN 3926. This study also used data from ISSP.

Main Topics:

Topics covered included: gender; age; educational background; working mothers and related issues; gender roles; household work; attitudes to marriage; cohabitation and children; family decision-making; income; attitudes to work; working conditions; quality of life; parental employment; religious belief; household and employment characteristics; employment history.

For information on sampling, please see documentation for the relevant BSA and ISSP studies.

For information on methodology, please see documentation for the relevant BSA and ISSP studies.