SOCIOLOGY

Sociology

Sociology

The past few decades has witnessed changing relationship between men and women both in society generally and the family specifically. More and more women jump out of their homes and join the labor market. Accompanying the movement of women's liberation, the status of women has also been changed. Women get more recognition from the society and they have been pursuing equality with men. In Britain, women now have full legal and political equality with men. Women have progressed from being possessions of men, with no legal status of their own, to being considered legal citizens in their own right. And in China, women are also struggling to get rid of the stereotype of nurturers and care givers. Chinese women are inclined to think that they are capable of achieving whatever men can achieve. However, some problems occurred during the changing process. Women both in Britain and China find that it is hard for them to handle a balance between work and family. Employed wives face considerable problems of strain and exhaustion in both their work and family roles. And it is more difficult for Chinese women to get promotion or held senior positions than British women.

The division of household tasks has been changing during the past few decades, which dues to people's different concepts towards work and family, unemployment of the men, and also the improved living conditions. Traditionally in Britain, of the tasks considered, three functions were dominantly the wife's responsibility-doing the dishes, making breakfast, and straightening up the living room. Decisions about the house, the car, life insurance, as well as responsibility for household repairs, tended to fall into the husband's field. (Work & Family P159) However, over the last few decades, an unprecedented rise in the employment rate of married women has significantly altered the economic role of women and the allocation of the household tasks. As women demand more male participation in activities traditionally defined as feminine, and as they begin to share and sometimes take over men's traditional roles, some response on the part of men is inevitable. In the past, a man standing at the kitchen sink or doing housework would be laughed at by his work mates or colleagues. People would think that such a man was losing his masculinity. Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable for a government minister to say that he began his day by cooking breakfast for five children and delivering them to their different schools. Yet, Britain's Energy Secretary, Peter Walker, stated in 1987 that this was part of his daily routine. (Natalya) Another factors contribute to the change are the redundant of men and the only work available is that for which the wife is better qualified. In Britain, there were high rates of unemployment during the periods of the 1980s and early 90s. The jobs people lost were mostly skilled jobs in manufacturing industry, which were regarded as 'men's jobs'. Massive cuts in state spending have led to job losses in the ...