Models Of The Family In Modern Societies: Ideals And Realities

by Catherine Hakim

This book reports on two comparative nationally representative surveys of men and women in Britain and Spain, two countries chosen to illustrate the diversity of modern European societies. The British survey was funded within the ESRC Future of Work Research Programme and was carried out by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Catherine Hakim presents a study of ideal models of the family and family roles, work orientations, patriarchal values, and lifestyle preferences, showing how these impact on women's marital histories, fertility, employment patterns, occupational segregation, and labour mobility, but not on men's labour market participation. Lifestyle preferences and work orientations have a strong impact on women's activities, and especially on married women's employment choices, but patriarchal values (which are most commonly studied by social attitude surveys) have virtually no impact on behaviour. The analyses demonstrate that political and religious values have virtually no connection with orientations to employment and family roles. The book also covers educational homogamy, housing classes and contrasts between ethnic minority groups in core values and labour market participation.

Contents: Introduction
The minimalist survey
Patriarchy, ideal model of the family and work orientations
Correlates of lifestyle preferences
Ideological influences on employment
Ideological influences on occupational choice
Political, religious and other influences on lifestyle preferences
The polarization of housing and women's employment in Britain
Conclusions: rhetoric and reality in lifestyle preferences
Bibliography
Index.

About the Author:
: Catherine Hakim, Dr, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, London School of Economics, UK

282 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003