In addition, because her neighborhood does not feature many other stay-at-home moms, she has joined an organization called the MOMS Club, which provides support and companionship for stay-at-home mothers. Finally, because she is aware that being a stay-at-home mother puts her in a financially dependent position, she has made sure that she controls all of the finances and has a substantial separate savings account. In fact, her husband's inability to participate in daily life means that she makes all of the major decisions in their household; she selected their home without his input, researched and purchased both of their automobiles, and plans all of their family vacations and holidays.
In the working mother's household, the division of labor is far more apparently equitable. She and her husband have comparable salaries and work comparable hours. While the mother was responsible for all activities in the domestic sphere, her husband took care of all the yard work, ran the errands for the family during his lunch hour, took care of routine home maintenance and major home improvement projects on the weekends or after work, and maintained the family's automobiles. In addition, the family shows greater flexibility in gender roles. While the mother prepares the meals at night, her husband cleans up the kitchen...
Though their only child is only three years old, the father already couches a youth sports team, and plans to coach their children's sports teams as the children grow up. Interestingly enough, the working mother has not taken the same steps to ensure her future financial security, but has comingled all of her assets with her husband's and has taken a hands-off approach to the family's financial status. Furthermore, the shared responsibility in the household means that the couple also shares decision-making responsibilities and the working mother admits that she has compromised on the house that they live in, the vehicle she drives, and where they spend their holidays and vacations. In addition, because her husband has more leisure time and has a fairly expensive hobby (golf), she describes feeling that a disproportionate amount of her family's discretionary income goes towards that hobby. Oddly enough, after interviewing these two women, it actually seems like the woman who more closely conforms to gender role stereotyping actually has a greater degree of power and control in her household. Whether this discovery is an anomaly or reflects the modern-day reality of working vs. stay-at-home mothers, is something that probably merits more investigation.
