Traditional Nuclear Family Has Transformed

¶ … traditional nuclear family has transformed profoundly in the past two decades. Increased access for women in the workplace has created a "dual-earner" family setting with both parents earning a steady income. As a result of the diversification of wage earners within the family, the question of how the traditional division of responsibilities has changed is a relevant area of study. The following analysis will examine precisely what has occurred within the traditional nuclear family.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1960 forty five percent of American homes had married parents with children the age of eighteen and one primary wage earner. The same Census study in 2000 showed that this figure has dropped to fewer than twenty five percent. The dual earner mentality within most families means that the dynamics of household responsibilities have changed. Women, who were the traditional guardians of the home, do not have as much time to devote to maintaining family as previous generations. As a result, the responsibilities of household chores, care-taking of children, and other such responsibilities are duly split between both husband and wife. However, this division is not equal; the majority of household chores and domestic responsibilities are still considered the responsibility of women. Dr. Misrak Elias explains, "The responsibility of women has only increased due to increased work opportunities. Now they must find the time to balance both the responsibilities of nurturing family and maintaining career." (Liazos, npg). The traditional attitude towards family responsibilities has not changed as much as one would think with the dual-earner nature of most families. This change is not realized because women now have the double burden of trying to manage their public and private lives at the same time. A recent United Nations study on family responsibilities reveals those women "made more sacrifices for the family and much of their work were unpaid. They worked longer hours in the workplace, but men had not made commensurate efforts in the home" (Pleck, npg). It is evident that while the role of women in the workplace and as a wage earner within the household has dramatically increased, their responsibilities within the home have not decreased a proportionate amount.

The result of having women as a secondary wage earner has created a differing division of labor. Men, who are traditionally negligent of family duties, must now assume more family responsibility. UN study results reveal that men now perform double their traditional family obligations within the household. This implies that men now have more responsibility in taking care of children, maintaining the house, and other domestic duties. Men however, have not been as impacted by this transition towards dual-earners within the family (Pleck, npg). This is because as both members of the family work, they also increase their spending in terms of buying convenience items and maintenance services. This means that families eat out more, hire maids, cleaning and maintenance services, etc. because they have greater proportionate spending and they also have less time and energy to perform traditional family duties.