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Chapter 3

Families in the 1970s and 1980s

The1970ssawan erosion of the

optimistic economy of the1950s.When

thehusband’sincomedidnot keepup

with inflation or a perceivedstandardof

living,thewifeoften joinedtheworkforce

topursuea career or supplement the

family income.Somebusinessesandlarger

institutionsremovedbarriersto

advancement for women,but inequality

stillexisted.Many women entered

previously male-orientedprofessionssuch

asmedicine,law,management,andhigher

education.Thesechangessometimes

shiftedthebalanceof power within

families.Men often felt inadequatebecause

they couldnot support their familieson

their incomesalone.Thosewhodecidedto

work twojobstomakeendsmeet found

their increasedabsencefrom thehome

further exacerbatedproblemswith their

wivesandchildren.Many women felt

overwhelmedasthey triedtobe

“supermoms,”caringfor thehouse,the

children,andworkingpart- or full-time.

Thedivorceratebegan toescalatein the

1970s.Cohabitation(couplesliving

together but not married)becamemore

common.Thiswasespecially evident

amongthehighly visiblemoviestarsof the

timewhorejectedtraditionalmarriageand

childrearingarrangements.Thebirth rate

for cohabitingcouplesandtheout-of-

wedlock birth ratesoared,especially in

low-incomefamilies.Conservativepolitical

movementssought torestorefamily values

asa way toprevent theerosion of the

traditionalfamily.

The 1980s brought the reaping of what

earlier decades had sown.The belief that

maternal employment outside the home

was harmful to children decreased as a

“pro-feminist attitude”emerged (Caplow,

Hicks,&Wattenberg,2000).Women

continued to enter the workforce in

unprecedented numbers,creating a

childcare dilemma.Latchkey children

became increasingly common,as well as

older children caring for younger siblings

until a parent arrived home from work.

Childrearing,the family’s foremost

Many women work to supplement the family income,

which requires the assistance of each family member.

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