ABSTRACT

This chapter begins with a historical overview of the public or private sphere division, the middle-class ideal, and the exalted role of motherhood, all of which frame the way men's relationship to work has developed. The historical separation of public and private spheres shaped the rise of gendered work roles and the unequal valuation of work. The cult of domesticity exalted the role of mother, capitalizing on assumptions about women's moral superiority and virtue, which solidified women's place in the home. Rigid Victorian expectations about women's responsibilities, roles, and place distanced women farther and farther from paid work. Work-life balance as a concept and work-life policies are attempts to bridge the spheres in order to make life livable both for men and for women. The cultural and economic impacts of gender ideologies cannot be overlooked when unpacking the causes of the glass handcuffs phenomenon.