For this assignment, you will be required to conduct an interview regarding gender inequality and the household.
Preparing for an Interview
- List four of your closed-ended questions.
- List four of your open-ended questions.
- Describe the interview setting and materials you will need to bring to the interview. Briefly describe the person you will interview, and how he or she fits the criteria (working parent in a couple who share a household with one or more children).
Analyzing Your Findings
- Does there appear to be a gendered division of labor in the home? How are the tasks divided? Who does most of the daily work and why?
- Did your interview confirm that women do more of the second shift, or was your respondent an exception to the rule? What about this household’s arrangement makes it fit the rule, or be an exception?
- Do you think it is inevitable that one person in a couple always does more work than the other? What effects might these inequities have on marriages and live-in relationships? Can you think of a better solution to sharing household labor?
- What might you have learned if you could have interviewed the other partner as well?