ABSTRACT
When describing changes concerning the family, one of the most crucial phenomena mentioned is the participation of married women in the labour force. In the long run, industrialisation or the modernisation of a society in general increases the employment of married women. The interpretation of the direct connection between the economic system and women’s participation in the labour force is mainly based on aggregate figures, which evidently show parallel changes. In addition to openly Marxist and functionalist researchers, many other sociologists have been very responsive to the view that there is a direct connection between industrialisation and patterns of family life. To explain variations between countries, the materialist theories have been used as a starting-point. To understand the real meaning of differences between the sexes in this respect, one must examine the ideologies which have formulated the idea of women’s special relationship to the family.
