ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses how changes in the economy impacted families in the post-industrial revolution and explains how religious institutions, particularly with relation to churchgoers versus non-churchgoers, have affected families. It relates how education is becoming a lifelong necessity and associates demographic trends with changes in family functioning. The chapter outlines the rationale behind the earning gap between men and women from both the discrimination perspective and the human capital perspective and discusses the danger gap in relation to gender and work. It explains the history of housework, including "emotional work" and explains gender differences in marital role structures and scripts. The chapter describes work-family impacts on children. It compares non-industrialized patterns using Sub-Saharan Africa as an example and discusses Sweden as an example of a highly developed country.