The Project
The traditional family unit defined as comprising of the father who specializes in labour market work and the mother who specializes in home production is in decline in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US) and many other developed economies across the globe. The reasons behind the decline of traditional labour division among married and cohabiting couples are multifaceted but reflect in large the increased participation of women in higher education, the increased share of women in employment, the narrowing gender pay gap and improvements to gender equality in the domain of economic decision-making. Women’s labour market progress—coupled with stagnant wages, economic slowdown and frequently economic necessity—has meant that the family unit has had a steady increase in the share of employed married mothers, who when employed, are often the primary breadwinners. Families with stay-at-home mothers often stay behind economically. For instance, UK households that depend only on fathers’ earnings have the same average income as 15 years ago, often resulting in the low living standard among children.
However, there is a growing stream of research suggesting that the decline of the traditional division of labour in the household, by challenging gender identity norms (i.e. "a man should earn more than his wife"), remains unsettling for many in society. The core aim of this project is to examine the consequences of these changes on a number of previously unidentified economic and social outcomes. Importantly, these outcomes are not constrained to mothers and fathers but also include, where applicable, the outcomes of children and young adults who have grown up, or are growing up, in these less traditional households. These objectives serve to help us understand the consequences of the transition to a less specialized division of labour within the household, and looking forward, how the next generation is being affected by growing up in these non-traditional families.
We expect successful candidate to identify the research questions they find most interesting and promising and design the appropriate methodological approach with our support. That said, we expect the research to be largely based on the secondary analysis of household panel data such as The British Household Panel Survey (BHPS); Understanding Society (USoc); and the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS).
The traditional family unit defined as comprising of the father who specializes in labour market work and the mother who specializes in home production is in decline in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US) and many other developed economies across the globe. The reasons behind the decline of traditional labour division among married and cohabiting couples are multifaceted but reflect in large the increased participation of women in higher education, the increased share of women in employment, the narrowing gender pay gap and improvements to gender equality in the domain of economic decision-making. Women’s labour market progress—coupled with stagnant wages, economic slowdown and frequently economic necessity—has meant that the family unit has had a steady increase in the share of employed married mothers, who when employed, are often the primary breadwinners. Families with stay-at-home mothers often stay behind economically. For instance, UK households that depend only on fathers’ earnings have the same average income as 15 years ago, often resulting in the low living standard among children.
However, there is a growing stream of research suggesting that the decline of the traditional division of labour in the household, by challenging gender identity norms (i.e. "a man should earn more than his wife"), remains unsettling for many in society. The core aim of this project is to examine the consequences of these changes on a number of previously unidentified economic and social outcomes. Importantly, these outcomes are not constrained to mothers and fathers but also include, where applicable, the outcomes of children and young adults who have grown up, or are growing up, in these less traditional households. These objectives serve to help us understand the consequences of the transition to a less specialized division of labour within the household, and looking forward, how the next generation is being affected by growing up in these non-traditional families.
The Successful Candidate should:
Fulfil the entrance requirements for a PhD in the School of Management
Start date:
All PhD students must commence registration and PhD training in October 2023 (except in very exceptional circumstances such as transfer of commenced PhD candidates and with approval from the School Director of Doctoral Programmes)
Enquiries and Applications
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Dr Joanna Syrda, [Email Address Removed]
More information about applying for a PhD at Bath may be found on our website.
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