a) At the time of the article, what was the average share of male income that a housewife was estimated to receive.
"About half of a married man's income goes as "pay" to his wife."
Pg. 83b) Was a housewife’s income deemed to be more or less risky than the husband’s? Explain.
More risky. According to the article:
"The 1979 Census reports that three-quarters of the mothers who were separated or divorced from their child's father received nothing from the father. Only 8 percent received $1,000 or more per child. Alimony is available with any regularity to an even smaller group."
Pg. 84Being out of the workforce for
x number of year, then going through a divorce makes a former housewife more vulnerable to monetary hardship.
The article goes on to say:
"The power that a husband now has to terminate his marriage to a housewife and thus to reduce considerably her standard of living and her status has effects on those housewives whose marriage has not terminated. First of all, there is the worry that the marriage may terminate. Second, the husband may use the implicit or explicit threat of leaving to achieve a dominance in the relationship, to the detriment of the housewife's feelings of well-being. Thus, the increasingly well-known risk of a bad outcome has the effect of reducing the value of a "good" outcome."
Pg. 84c) What is the ratio of the risk of injury at home for men/women noted in the article? How does this ratio correspond to your prior expectation?
"The home is a risky place both for men and women. In 1977, 15.1 million women and 14.4 million men were injured in the home, while 2.4 million women and 9.0 million men were injured in paid jobs. Accidents are not the only source of injury; the chance of physical damage to women because of intentional human violence is far from negligible."
Pg. 8215.1 : 14.4 = 1.05 : 1 (women to men)
This is a lot higher than I originally thought. I didn't realize that so many injuries are reported each year that originate at home.
d) According to Bergman did the proportion of women who took the role of “housewife” increase or decrease with the industrial revolution?
"In the era prior to the industrial revolution, most women worked on farms and contributed heavily to the output of goods in addition to providing housekeeping services. The housewife caste, in the sense of an occupational group devoting itself exclusively to domestic service,
was greatly enlarged by the industrial revolution. As jobs off the farm were created, real wages for men got to a level such that many men were able to afford the services of a live-in domestic servant, who also served as a wife. This development segregated women's productive activities, but probably improved women's lives considerably. As technological change has proceeded further, the real value of cash wages available to women, although continuing to be far below mens' wages, have reached a level such that the alternatives to continued membership in the housewife caste have grown more attractive. Thus the same trends that caused the housewife occupation to grow are now causing it to shrink."
Pg. 85
Very interesting article, thanks for sharing!
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