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Chapter 9

Middle-incomefamilieshaveundergone
manychangesinmarriagepatternsto
accommodatethisshifttodual-income
households.Manymiddle-classfamilies
struggleastheyattempttocreatebalance.
Dual-incomemarriageisperhapsthe
greatestchallengefacingcontemporary
families,producingmuchstressandconflict.
Whoismindingthechildren?Whatisthe
impactonthechildren?Eachfamilyis
uniqueandmustnegotiateitsownsystemof
tendingtochildrenandhousework,while
theparentsjuggletwofull-timejobs.
Inthischapter,wewillreviewthe
historyof womenwhoworkoutsidethe
home,aswellashowthesewomenhave
changedthepatternsof marriageand
familyrelationships.Wewilllookatthe
dual-incomefamilytoday,includingits
positiveandnegativeimpactonchildren.
Finally,wewillofferstrategiestohelpdual-
incomeparentsbetterorganizetheirlives
andmanagetheirfamilyrelationships.

Working Mothers: A Historical
Perspective

Thelast60yearshaveseendramatic
changesinthepatternsofmarriageand
familyrelationships.Thesechangeshave
takenmanyinterestingtwistsandturns.As
theyrelatetomothersintheworkforce,we
canrefertorevolution,counterrevolution,
andrenegotiation.Patternsofadaptationare
differentforfirst-generation,second-

generation,andthird-generationworking

mothers.ContemporaryAmericancultureis

filledwithfamiliesfromallthreeofthese

generationsoperatingatdifferentlevels

simultaneously.

Post-World War II

DuringWorldWarsIandII,it was

necessary for many women towork

outsidethehometofillin for themen who

wereat war.Women movedintojobs

which hadpreviously been thedomain of

men.DuringWorldWar I,women in the

lower classesmovedfrom garment work to

factory production (Brown,2002).While

lower-classwomen,includingmany blacks

andimmigrants,hadalwaysworked,

especially in servicejobs,WorldWar IIsaw

During WWII women worked in defense factories to

help the war effort. When the war was over, they were

expected to return home and be housewives.

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