Who brings money and who does housework in Western families?

Question

There's been an old tradition (at least in my country) - a husband is a 'hunter' who brings prey home (actually money), and a wife is a 'hearth keeper', she raises children and does most housework. Her job usually lets her work not as hard as men and her salary is lower. Although both a wife and a husband combine their incomes which is then spent equally.

I've heard often a husband and a wife in a Western family don't combine their incomes and spend money on their own, is this true?
How do they maintain the balance then? Do they divide housework among them evenly or the wife has to do more work anyway? Maybe the amount of housework has become lower?
Are women's salaries lower than men's ones?

I'm asking about Western countries, but you may also tell about how it's going in others. Thanks for your replies in advance.

Answer 1

So far women in most western societies do earn less money than men do , despite being just as qualified. They earn approximately 77 per cent compare to 100 per cent of the male salary.

In North American families many wives work outside the home as well as in the home, but women still do most of the housework, taking care of the children etc. Although it is getting better, many husbands do help out more than they used to.

There are also dads who decide to stay at home and care for the children and the house and their wives work outside the home. It is dependent on whose salary is larger usually and who has the better benefits package to afford them to be able to do that.

As to money management that's a personal thing, but generally husbands and wives share a joint account for household expenses etc. They may have separate accounts as well that they put some of their own salaries into like a separate bank account for christmas gifts etc.

Family in many western nations is not just the old nuclear family unit with a mum , dad and children.

Families can be two mums or two dads, have extended family living with them or not. It all depends on the particular family.

I hope that helps.

Answer 2

I can say this -- as a Single, through a short marriage (as someone who survived a short disaster of a marriage to an abusive, violent and sociopathic ex), and as a Long Term Single Parent ...

MY INCOME (and yes, I am FEMALE) was THE source of income for the home ... and in most cases .. .the ONLY source of Income for the home.

Now ... the next part of the question:

as a Single Adult ... I EARNED the income and did all the housework.

As a married female ... I EARNED the HIGHEST Income (and with the US Armed Forces -- my income was equal to a male in the same rank as I was at) ... and ... ALL (in fact .. this is true) the Housework ... the Yardwork, and just about everything else was done PERSONALLY by this High Earning FEMALE -- including changing the oil/filter in my vehicles, maintaining everything I owned, fixing things, doing the lawn maintenance, trimming trees, chain saw work, painting walls, etc etc etc.

Then ... as a Long Term Single Parent (because the ex was convicted of Child Abuse and was a DEADBEAT DAD) ... MY INCOME was still the ONLY Source of income into the household -- and my benefits (health insurance, etc) were the way that the children were provided for and got everything that they needed. So off to work I went .. then go home and DO EVERYTHING STILL ... with NO HELP and no relief and no Days off ... I HAD to do everything because there was NO one to back me up ...

Then ... Retired from the Military, and STILL ... it is MY Earnings that provide for the family -- even more so now that they are in middle and high school. They would do some chores, but because they had psychiatric conditions (one high functioning autistic, the other ADHD with the same sociopathology that the ex and his family had) ... I MUST and HAD to do all the maintenance and chores that needed to use 'sharps' with .. things like Chain Saw work (to cut apart the trees after Hurricanes that downed them), raking the yard, mowing, changing oil/filter, the maintenance of the vehicles and other things, the repairs to the home, building bookcases, etc -- ALL That ALSO Fell on this WOMAN's Shoulders ... becuase ... once again ... there is NO ONE ELSE to do this ..

NOW ... as an Empty-Nesting Single Retiree ... STILL it is just me -- MY INCOME, my work -- both inside and outside the home and the yardwork and the housework and maintaining everything .. including doing the ENTIRE repairs that need to be done because that sociopathic ex (from a decade and half ago) decided to once again BURGLARIZE MY HOME in August 2006 (and had the willing help of an adult child at this time).

SO .. NO .. housework has NOT lessened .. in fact, with more devices, it has INCREASED (becuase everything breaks down or needs repairs -- and in order to make budget every month -- it DOES HELP that I can figure out myself how to do the repairs/maintenance and DO DO THEM myself).

In the Civilian World (non-military), YES, there is STILL that pay gap for Females -- and it DOES AGGRAVATE me tremendously -- especially as a FEMALE With Graduate Degrees .. and one who has the experience and the earnings to do the same level (or .. in a lot of cases ... BETTER) work output than my male counterparts ....

And .. NO ... I did NOT trust my ex once I married that jerk -- he proved within the first month why I SHOULD TAKE his name OFF my assets and bank accounts and NOT let him have access to MY EARNINGS.

I PAID a LOT of money to get out of that horrible disaster of a relationship .. but it was WORTH IT IN THE END .. because now in my elder years ... I CAN ENJOY What I've EARNED since that time .. MY HOME, my income, the car I have, the ability to choose to go explore new interests, etc.

Answer 3

In America there are some couples who don't combine their incomes. It is usually due to selfish desires. Some husbands do housework, but mostly just laundry and dishes. It all depends on the situation, but around here, you never know.

Answer 4

In our house my husband and i both work and we make the same money because we have the the same job we have our own bank accounts and spend our money how we choose but when it comes to household things like the rent, furniture, anything to do with the house we split in half. We are somewhat traditional when it comes to house work, I do the laundry and clean the house and it's my husbands job to mow the lawn and fix things but he does most of the cooking because I am a terrible cook and I hate cooking and he loves it besides the greatest chefs in the world are men.

Answer 5

now both the husband and the wife has to work because houses are so expensive that one salary won't cover it.

Answer 6

many non secular traditions, consisting of Islam and Christianity, have a stake in shouting down modern feminism, notwithstanding in the event that they reluctantly admit first and 2d wave feminism (giving women human beings equivalent vote casting and felony rights). many human beings draw the line at women human beings being the cultural equals of adult adult males, that's what feminists on the instant try against. you may tell ultimate off that the action picture is incorrect if it refers to abortion as a "holocaust."

Answer 7

well I live in the USA and my hubby works all day and I stay home with the kids, cook, clean, do all the shoping, all I ask him to do is bring home the money.

Answer 8

Somehow I don't think we all fall into the same mold.