THE SECOND SHIFT: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home

by Arlie Hochschild ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1989

An extended study of how two-earner couples divvy up their ""second shift"": the morning, evening, and weekend hours devoted to household tasks and child care. Fifty couples were interviewed along with numerous paid caretakers, teachers, etc. Hochschild (Sociology/Berkeley) also camped out in the homes often couples in the study group, observing how they handle children, household tasks, and their marriages. Not surprisingly, the wives in 80% of the families handled the lion's share, and occasionally all, of the second shift. Many of the families were what Hochschild terms ""transitional."" The wives believed in equal or more equal sharing; the husbands gave lip service to women's liberation, but not to the extent of plunging into housework. For the sake of marital harmony, many women gave up trying to motivate their spouses to do more at home. Such women tended to suffer chronic exhaustion, low sex drive and more frequent illnesses. Several sacrificed career aspirations by shifting to part-time work or free-lance consulting. The problem, says Hochschild, is that the women's revolution is stalled by male ""gender identities"" and by a workplace where rigid schedules conflict with children's needs. Even ""egalitarian"" couples paid a price: both partners had to lower career expectations for children's welfare. The findings are predictable, but the day-to-day lives of the ten couples singled out for close scrutiny have some of the fascination of Oscar Lewis' Five Families.

Pub Date: June 15, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1989

Categories: NONFICTION