{{Short description|Family structure centered on breadwinner}} {{Redirect|Breadwinner}} The '''breadwinner model''' is a paradigm of family centered on a '''breadwinner''', "the member of a family who earns the money to support the others."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/breadwinner|title=breadwinner|encyclopedia=Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English|publisher=Pearson ELT}}</ref> Traditionally, the earner works outside the home to provide the family with income and benefits such as health insurance, while the non-earner stays at home and takes care of children and older adults. The breadwinner model largely emerged in Western cultures after industrialization. Before industrialization, all members of the household—including men, women, and children—contributed to the productivity of the household. Gender roles underwent a redefinition as a result of industrialization, with a split between public and private roles for men and women that did not exist before industrialization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History 1700 |url=https://faculty.weber.edu/kmackay/economic%20systems%201.htm |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=faculty.weber.edu}}</ref>
Norwegian government policy has increasingly targeted men as fathers, as a tool of changing gender relations.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bjørnholt | first1 = Margunn | author-link1= Margunn Bjørnholt | year =2014 | title = Changing men, changing times; fathers and sons from an experimental gender equality study | url = http://www.margunnbjornholt.no/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Changing-men-changing-times-fathers-and-sons-from-an-experimental-gender-equality-study.pdf | journal = The Sociological Review | volume = 62 | issue = 2 | pages = 295–315 | doi = 10.1111/1467-954X.12156 | s2cid = 143048732 }}</ref> Recent years have seen a shift in gender norms for the breadwinner role in the United States. A 2013 Pew Research study found that women were the sole or primary breadwinners in 40% of heterosexual relationships with children.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wang|first1=Wendy|title=Breadwinner Moms|url=http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/29/breadwinner-moms/|website=Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends|date=29 May 2013 |access-date=9 June 2017}}</ref>
==Rise== In Britain, the breadwinner model developed among the emerging middle class towards the end of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century. Before this, in low-income families, a subsistence wage was paid based on the individual worker's output, with all family members expected to contribute to household upkeep.
<blockquote>There was another side to the transformation of wage relations in mid-19th-century Britain involving two closely related changes: first, a shift in the prevailing wage form, from a joint to an individual payment; and second, a shift in the predominant subsistence norm of a living wage, from a family group's income to the ideal of an adult male-breadwinner wage. This is the notion that the wage earned by a husband ought to be sufficient to support his family without his wife and young children having to work for pay.<ref> {{cite journal |last=Seccombe |first=Wally |date=Jan 1986 |title=Patriarchy Stabilized: The Construction of the Male Breadwinner Wage Norm in Nineteenth-Century Britain |jstor=4285488|journal=Social History |publisher= Taylor & Francis, Ltd. |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=53–76 |doi= 10.1080/03071028608567640}} </ref></blockquote>
The increase in wages among skilled laborers and lower-middle-class workers allowed a far larger number of families to support the entire family unit on a single wage, and the breadwinner model became an attainable goal for a far wider proportion of society. Within this model, "The division of labour in parenting tasks can also be classified as 'caring about' (breadwinning) and 'caring for' (nurturing) children".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Strange |first=Julie-Marie |date=December 2012 |title=Fatherhood, Providing and Attachment in Late Victorian and Edwardian Working-Class Families |journal=The Historical Journal |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=1007–1027 |doi= 10.1017/s0018246x12000404|s2cid=144726797 }}</ref>
==Advantages== In the United Kingdom, the emergence of the breadwinner norm coincided with and helped to facilitate the removal of children from the workforce.<ref>Seccombe</ref> In 1821, approximately 49% of the nation's workforce was under the age of 20. Throughout the century, multiple pieces of legislation were enacted, limiting the age at which a child could enter the workforce and establishing mandatory education standards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/struggle_democracy/childlabour.htm |title=Exhibitions | Citizenship | Struggle for democracy |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=2016-02-25}}</ref>
Historically, families that rely on the earning power of one parent have had a lower divorce rate than families in which both parents are employed.<ref>{{cite journal |last=D'Amico |first=Ronald |date=Jun 1983 |title=Status Maintenance or Status Competition? Wife's Relative Wages as a Determinant of Labor Supply and Marital Instability |jstor=2578286|journal=Social Forces |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=1186–1205 |doi= 10.2307/2578286}}</ref> However, a lower divorce rate is not universally accepted as a positive facet of society. A primary reason women in domestic abuse situations choose not to divorce or report their spouses is economic dependence on their partner.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kaur |first1=Ravneet |last2=Garg |first2=Suneela |date=April 2008 |title=Addressing Domestic Violence Against Women: An Unfinished Agenda |journal=Indian Journal of Community Medicine |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=73–76 |doi=10.4103/0970-0218.40871 |issn=0970-0218 |pmc=2784629 |pmid=19967027 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Marriages in a breadwinner economy may last longer or be less likely to end, but this may be an effect of the economically disadvantaged partner lacking the freedom to end a bad marriage.
==Disadvantages== One associated disadvantage is that 'male breadwinner regimes make women dependent within marriage cohabitation especially when they have young children'.<ref name=Pascall>{{citation | last = Pascall | first = Gillian | contribution = Male breadwinner model | editor-last1 = Pascall | editor-first1 = Gillian | title = International encyclopedia of social policy | publisher = Routledge | location = London New York | year = 2010 | isbn = 9780415576949 | display-editors=etal}} [http://cw.routledge.com/ref/socialpolicy/male.html Text.]</ref> In societies where the breadwinner model is present, it is common for the non-earner (predominantly women) to have broken career paths, providing unpaid labor to the family or working part-time. This contributes to the fact that, on average, women obtain lower levels of lifetime earnings than men.<ref name=Pascall/> This income disparity can often lead to an increase in financial insecurity or poverty – predominantly affecting women – if the relationship collapses. Another risk that has been identified with this has been a higher exposure to domestic violence, which has been associated with the non-earner's lack of independent resources.<ref name=Pascall/>
Since the US economy has evolved past the breadwinner economy, studies have examined the well-being of working mothers. Data spanning more than 10 years showed that, on average, working mothers are happier than stay-at-home mothers, report better health, and have lower rates of depression.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/12/working-moms |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=www.apa.org}}</ref>
=== Effect on gender identity === As breadwinning has been part of male identity in societies with a breadwinner economy, people may continue to expect men to take on a breadwinner role, and some may oppose women taking on that role.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Medved|first=Caryn E.|date=2016-07-02|title=The new female breadwinner: discursively doing and un doing gender relations|journal=Journal of Applied Communication Research|volume=44|issue=3|pages=236–255|doi=10.1080/00909882.2016.1192286|s2cid=148367384 |issn=0090-9882}}</ref> However, people in younger generations report less strict gendered expectations for men to be a breadwinner. When surveyed, people across generations report that it is more important for their spouse to be a good partner or parent than for their partner to be a breadwinner.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Parker |first1=Kim |last2=Stepler |first2=Renee |title=Americans see men as the financial providers, even as women's contributions grow |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/20/americans-see-men-as-the-financial-providers-even-as-womens-contributions-grow/ |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=Pew Research Center |date=20 September 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Decline of the male breadwinner== In 2013, the UK female employment rate reached 67.2 percent, the highest since the Office for National Statistics's records began.<ref>{{cite news | last= Dugan | first = Emily | title = Number of women in work in Britain hits record high – but figures show the gender pay gap is growing too | work = The Independent | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/more-women-have-jobs-in-britain-than-ever-before--but-figures-show-the-gender-pay-gap-is-rising-too-9139154.html | publisher = Independent Print Limited | date = 19 February 2014| access-date = 30 October 2014}}</ref> As women's presence in the professional world has grown, as has support for gender equality, male–female relations in the home have changed, especially the breadwinner paradigm.<ref>{{cite book | last = Crompton | first = Rosemary | title = Restructuring gender relations and employment: the decline of the male breadwinner | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford New York | year = 1999 | isbn = 9780198296089 }}</ref> The breadwinner model was most prevalent during the 20 years directly after World War II. During this time, the economy relied heavily on men to provide the main source of income and support the family, while women typically stayed at home to look after the children and undertake domestic work. "Women's support for gender specialisation in marriage began to decline rapidly from the late 1970s through to the mid 1980s, this was followed by an interval of stability until the mid 1990s".<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Cunningham | first = Mick | title = Changing attitudes toward the male breadwinner, female homemaker family model: Influences of women's employment and education over the lifecourse | journal = Social Forces | volume = 87 | issue = 1 | pages = 299–323 | publisher = Oxford Journals | doi = 10.1353/sof.0.0097 | date = September 2008 | jstor = 20430858 | s2cid = 144490888 }}</ref> "As increasing proportions of women entered the paid labour market during the latter decades of the 20th century, the family model of a male breadwinner and female homemaker came under significant challenge both as a practice and an ideology".<ref name=Robinson>{{Cite journal | last1 = Sayer | first1 = Liana C. | last2 = Bianchi | first2 = Suzanne M. | last3 = Robinson | first3 = John P. | s2cid = 141718530 | title = Are parents investing less in children? Trends in mothers' and fathers' time with children | journal = American Journal of Sociology | volume = 110 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–43 | publisher = The University of Chicago Press | doi = 10.1086/386270 | jstor = 10.1086/386270 | date = July 2004 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|There is now agreement in most literature that the breadwinner model, in which men take primary responsibility for earning and women for the unpaid work of care, has been substantially eroded.<ref name=Robinson /><ref>{{Cite journal | last = Lewis | first = Jane | title = The decline of the male breadwinner model: The implications for work and care | journal = Social Politics | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | pages = 152–170 | publisher = Oxford Journals | doi = 10.1093/sp/8.2.152 | date = Summer 2001 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nadim |first=Marjan |date=January 29, 2015 |title=Undermining the Male Breadwinner Ideal? Understandings of Women's Paid Work among Second-Generation Immigrants in Norway |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038514560259 |journal=Sociology |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=109–124 |doi=10.1177/0038038514560259 |s2cid=55690788 |via=Sage Journals|hdl=11250/2561247 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref>}}
The Nordic countries in particular have begun to adopt the dual-breadwinner model, with high employment rates among men and women, and a very small difference between men's and women's hours of work. Except for Denmark, research by the World Economic Forum has shown that all Nordic countries have closed over 80 percent of the gender gap.<ref>{{Cite report | last= World Economic Forum | author-link = World Economic Forum | date = 2013 | title = Insight Report: The Global Gender Gap Report 2013 | url = http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf | publisher = World Economic Forum, Switzerland | page = 103 | access-date = 19 October 2014 }}</ref>
==Gender cliff== In many countries, the likelihood of women's contribution to the household income drops sharply above 50% for heterosexual marriages. This gender cliff in the relative income contribution can be explained by both women and men preferring to marry people with higher income than themselves (Hypergamy) together with on average higher income for men.<ref name="e812">{{cite journal | last1=Grow | first1=André | last2=Van Bavel | first2=Jan | title=The Gender Cliff in the Relative Contribution to the Household Income: Insights from Modelling Marriage Markets in 27 European Countries | journal=European Journal of Population | volume=36 | issue=4 | date=2020 | issn=0168-6577 | pmid=32994759 | pmc=7492320 | doi=10.1007/s10680-019-09547-8 | doi-access=free | pages=711–733 | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10680-019-09547-8.pdf | access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref>
==Breadwinner mothers== The '''female breadwinner''' model, otherwise known as '''breadwinner mothers''' or '''breadwinner moms''',<ref name=Wang>{{cite report | last1 = Wang | first1 = Wendy | last2 = Parker | first2 = Kim | last3 = Taylor | first3 = Paul | title = Breadwinner moms, mothers are the sole or primary provider in four-in-ten households with children: Public conflicted about the growing trend | date = 29 May 2013 | journal = Pew Research Center | location = Washington, DC | url = http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/05/Breadwinner_moms_final.pdf | access-date = 1 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141106142901/http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/05/Breadwinner_moms_final.pdf | archive-date = 6 November 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref> takes place when the female provides the main source of income for the family. Recent data from the US Census Bureau indicate that "40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family". 37%<ref name=Decline>{{cite report | last = Pew Research Center | author-link = Pew Research Center | title= The decline of marriage and rise of new families |publisher= Pew Research Center|url= http://pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/ | date = 19 November 2010 |access-date= 18 October 2014 }}</ref> of these "breadwinner moms"<ref name=Wang/> are married mothers who have a higher income than their husbands, and 63%<ref name=Decline/> are single mothers.
==Concerns with the decline of the breadwinner model== The decline of the breadwinner model has been accompanied by an erosion of the economic support of family members and the "distribution of time and regulation of marriage and parenthood".<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Creighton | first = Colin | title = The rise and decline of the 'male breadwinner family' in Britain | journal = Cambridge Journal of Economics | volume = 23 | issue = 5 | pages = 519–541 | publisher = Oxford Journals | doi = 10.1093/cje/23.5.519 | jstor = 23599633 | date = September 1999 }}</ref> With two parents in the workforce, there is a risk that a job could undermine family life, consequently leading to relationship breakdown or adversely affecting original family formation.
While some evidence suggests that "women's gains on the economic front may be contributing to a decline in the formation and stability of marriages", one reason for this may be that women with greater earnings and economic security have more freedom to leave abusive marriages. Another possibility is that men are more hesitant about this change in social norms.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Thaler | first = Richard H. | author-link = Richard Thaler | title = Breadwinner wives and nervous husbands | work = The New York Times | date = 1 June 2013 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/business/breadwinner-wives-and-nervous-husbands.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& | access-date = 18 October 2014 }}</ref>
== Global variations == The ideal of the breadwinning model varies across the globe. In Norway, a country with a strong gender equality ideology, the breadwinner model is less prevalent.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|title=Undermining the Male Breadwinner Ideal? Understandings of Women's Paid Work among Second-Generation Immigrants in Norway |author=Marjan Nadim |doi=10.1177/0038038514560259 |hdl = 11250/2561247|hdl-access=free |journal=Sociology |volume=50 |issue=1 |date=February 2016|pages=109–124 |s2cid=55690788 }}</ref> Second generation Pakistani immigrants living in Norway experience the effects of this equality and reinforce women's rights to paid work as opposed to the strict male centric ideologies that generations before them practiced.<ref name=":02" /> In the United Kingdom, women's rates of employment decline after becoming a mother, and the male breadwinning model is still constant.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boje|first=Thomas P.|date=July 2007|title=Welfare and work. The gendered organisation of work and care in different European Countries|journal=European Review|volume=15|issue=3|pages=373–395|doi=10.1017/S1062798707000361|s2cid=143926974 |issn=1474-0575}}</ref>
In the United States during industrialization, nothing was more central to the American industrial order than the breadwinner ideal. It served to promote commerce while keeping it within proper bounds. The American Federation of Labor adopted the politics of male breadwinning. However, the North and South did not agree on this new cultural ideal, and it contributed to sectional political strife.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Levy|first=Jonathan |title=Ages of American capitalism: a history of the United States|date=2021|isbn=978-0-8129-9502-2 |location=New York|oclc=1162599712}}</ref>
== During the COVID-19 pandemic == The COVID-19 pandemic caused a workplace transition from office to home. The majority of the world's workforce (93% in 2022) was located in countries with lockdowns.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Al-Jubari |first1=Ibrahim |last2=Mosbah |first2=Aissa |last3=Salem |first3=Suha Fouad |date=July 2022 |title=Employee Well-Being During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Adaptability, Work-Family Conflict, and Organizational Response |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440221096142 |journal=SAGE Open |language=en |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=215824402210961 |doi=10.1177/21582440221096142 |s2cid=251691776 |issn=2158-2440}}</ref> Also, in-person services like daycare and school shut down at the same time.<ref name="Fan 143–186">{{Cite journal |last1=Fan |first1=Wen |last2=Moen |first2=Phyllis |date=May 2022 |title=Working More, Less or the Same During COVID-19? A Mixed Method, Intersectional Analysis of Remote Workers |journal=Work and Occupations |language=en |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=143–186 |doi=10.1177/07308884211047208 |issn=0730-8884|doi-access=free }}</ref> When women, especially women from minority groups, are employed outside the home, it can be challenging to manage their time effectively. These women are already at a disadvantage, and the weakening COVID economy, which has a disproportionate impact on the hiring of racial and ethnic minorities and women, may cause them to lose hours at work and influence their breadwinning role.<ref name="Fan 143–186"/>
==See also== *Sexual division of labour *Sociology of the family
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Notes== * {{cite book | last = Crompton | first = Rosemary |author1-link= Rosemary Crompton | title = Restructuring gender relations and employment: the decline of the male breadwinner | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford New York | year = 1999 | isbn = 9780198296089 }} ::Book review: {{Cite journal | last = Fagan | first = Colette | title = ''Restructuring gender relations and employment: the decline of the male breadwinner'' (review) | journal = Work, Employment & Society | volume = 15 | issue = 1 | pages = 195–212 | publisher = Cambridge Journals | doi = 10.1017/S0950017001230104 | jstor = 23747792 | date = March 2001 | doi-broken-date = 9 April 2026 }} * {{Cite journal | last = Creighton | first = Colin | title = The rise and decline of the 'male breadwinner family' in Britain | journal = Cambridge Journal of Economics | volume = 23 | issue = 5 | pages = 519–541 | publisher = Oxford Journals | doi = 10.1093/cje/23.5.519 | jstor = 23599633 | date = September 1999 }} * {{Cite journal | last = Cunningham | first = Mick | title = Changing attitudes toward the male breadwinner, female homemaker family model: Influences of women's employment and education over the lifecourse | journal = Social Forces | volume = 87 | issue = 1 | pages = 299–323 | publisher = Oxford Journals | doi = 10.1353/sof.0.0097 | jstor = 20430858 | date = September 2008 | s2cid = 144490888 }} * {{Cite journal | last = Nagla | first = Madhu | title = Male migration and emerging female headed families: Issues and challenges | journal = Asian Women | volume = 24 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–23 | publisher = Research Institute of Asian Women (RIAW) | doi = 10.14431/aw.2008.03.24.1.1 | date = March 2008 }} * {{cite news | last= Dugan | first = Emily | title = Number of women in work in Britain hits record high - but figures show the gender pay gap is growing too | work = The Independent | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/more-women-have-jobs-in-britain-than-ever-before--but-figures-show-the-gender-pay-gap-is-rising-too-9139154.html | publisher = Independent Print Limited | date = 19 February 2014| access-date = 30 October 2014}} * {{Cite report | last= World Economic Forum | author-link = World Economic Forum |date= 2013 |title=Insight Report: The Global Gender Gap Report 2013 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf |publisher=World Economic Forum, Switzerland |page=103|access-date= 19 October 2014 }} * {{Cite journal | last = Lewis | first = Jane | title = The decline of the male breadwinner model: The implications for work and care | journal = Social Politics | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | pages = 152–170 | publisher = Oxford Journals | doi = 10.1093/sp/8.2.152 | date = Summer 2001 }} * {{Cite journal | last = Osawa | first = Mari | title = The vicious cycle of the 'male breadwinner' model of livelihood security | journal = Women's Asia 21: Voices from Japan | volume = 16 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–5 | publisher = Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center | date = Winter 2006 | url = http://www.ajwrc.org/eng/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=14&cid=1 }} [http://www.ajwrc.org/english/sub/voice/16-1-1.pdf Pdf.] * {{citation | last = Pascall | first = Gillian | contribution = Male breadwinner model | editor-last1 = Pascall | editor-first1 = Gillian | title = International encyclopedia of social policy | publisher = Routledge | location = London New York | year = 2010 | isbn = 9780415576949 |display-editors=etal}} [http://cw.routledge.com/ref/socialpolicy/male.html Text.] * {{Cite journal | last1 = Sayer | first1 = Liana C. | last2 = Bianchi | first2 = Suzanne M. | last3 = Robinson | first3 = John P. | s2cid = 141718530 | title = Are parents investing less in children? Trends in mothers' and fathers' time with children | journal = American Journal of Sociology | volume = 110 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–43 | publisher = The University of Chicago Press | doi = 10.1086/386270 | jstor = 10.1086/386270 | date = July 2004 }} * {{Cite news | last = Thaler | first = Richard H. | author-link = Richard Thaler | title = Breadwinner wives and nervous husbands | work = The New York Times | date = 1 June 2013 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/business/breadwinner-wives-and-nervous-husbands.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& | access-date = 18 October 2014 }} * {{cite report | last = Pew Research Center | author-link = Pew Research Center | title= The decline of marriage and rise of new families |publisher= Pew Research Center|url= http://pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/ | date = 19 November 2010 |access-date= 18 October 2014 }} * {{cite report | last1 = Wang | first1 = Wendy | last2 = Parker | first2 = Kim | last3 = Taylor | first3 = Paul | title = Breadwinner moms, mothers are the sole or primary provider in four-in-ten households with children: Public conflicted about the growing trend | date = 29 May 2013 | journal = Pew Research Center | location = Washington, DC | url = http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/05/Breadwinner_moms_final.pdf | access-date = 1 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141106142901/http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/05/Breadwinner_moms_final.pdf | archive-date = 6 November 2014 | url-status = dead }}
{{Gender studies}} {{Discrimination}} {{Family}} {{Employment}} {{Gender equality}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Breadwinner model}} Category:Economic systems Category:Home economics Category:Gender role reversal Category:Gender roles Category:Role theory Category:Role status Category:Gender-related stereotypes Category:Social conservatism Category:Sociology of work