Equal Partners?: How Dual-Professional Couples Make Career, Relationship, and Family Decisions

Young professionals seek egalitarian partnerships, but working couples often deviate from this ideal. Equal Partners? explores how supportive workplaces, gender-egalitarian attitudes, and jointly coordinated actions can help couples achieve equality in work and family.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 16 May 2023
Publisher: University of California Press

Many young professionals seek egalitarian partnerships in which both partners work for pay and share unpaid housework and childcare. Yet working couples' realities often deviate from this ideal, with women trading off employment for family care. Will contemporary young adults repeat this pattern, or will they come closer to achieving equality in work and family?

Equal Partners? seeks to explore this question. Drawing on six years of interviews with the partners in twenty-one different-gender couples, Jaclyn S. Wong documents how supportive workplaces, partners' steadfast gender-egalitarian attitudes, and partners' jointly coordinated actions all need to come together for couples to experience gender equality in work and family. This book offers a compelling study of the dynamics of couples in ambitious partnerships who aspire to equality as they navigate the external pressures that come with life planning.

In Equal Partners, Jaclyn S. Wong delves into the complex dynamics of egalitarian partnerships among young professionals. Through in-depth interviews with twenty-one different-gender couples, Wong explores the challenges and opportunities these couples face as they strive for equality in work and family. The book highlights the importance of supportive workplaces, gender-egalitarian attitudes, and coordinated actions among partners to achieve gender equality.

One of the key findings of the book is that women often trade off employment for family care, despite their aspirations for egalitarian partnerships. Wong argues that this trade-off is influenced by a range of factors, including societal expectations, cultural norms, and structural barriers to gender equality. For example, women may be expected to prioritize their families over their careers, leading to a decrease in their employment opportunities and income. Additionally, women may face discrimination in the workplace, which makes it harder for them to advance in their careers and achieve equal pay.

To address these challenges, Wong suggests that supportive workplaces, gender-egalitarian attitudes, and coordinated actions among partners are essential. Supportive workplaces can provide flexible work arrangements, such as part-time or remote work, which allow women to balance work and family responsibilities. Gender-egalitarian attitudes can promote a culture of respect and equality, which can help to break down gender stereotypes and promote shared responsibilities. Coordinated actions can involve joint decision-making, shared household tasks, and child-rearing responsibilities, which can help to distribute the workload and reduce the burden on women.

Despite these challenges, Equal Partners offers hope for achieving gender equality in work and family. Wong argues that contemporary young adults are more likely to prioritize equality than their predecessors and are more aware of the barriers to achieving it. Additionally, technological advancements, such as the rise of flexible work arrangements and the availability of affordable childcare, are creating new opportunities for women to balance work and family responsibilities.

In conclusion, Equal Partners is a valuable contribution to the literature on gender equality and work-family balance. Through its compelling study of the dynamics of egalitarian partnerships among young professionals, the book offers insights into the challenges and opportunities facing these couples. By highlighting the importance of supportive workplaces, gender-egalitarian attitudes, and coordinated actions, Wong provides a roadmap for achieving gender equality in work and family. As we continue to navigate the complexities of contemporary life, Equal Partners offers a hopeful vision for a future in which work and family are truly equal.

Weight: 318g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520384576