Define Hochschild's concept of the second shift, and explain its relevance to contemporary marriage patterns

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Today, over 50 percent of all marriages in the United States are dual-earner marriages

—marriages in which both spouses are in the labor force. Many married women leave

their paid employment at the end of the day and then go home to perform hours of

housework and child care. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild refers to this as the "second

shift"—the domestic work that employed women perform at home after they complete

their workday on the job. Thus, many married women today contribute to the economic

well-being of their families and also meet many, if not all, of the domestic needs of

family members by cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking care of children, and managing

household routines. In recent years, more husbands have attempted to share some of

the household and child-care responsibilities, especially in families in which the wife's

earnings are essential to family finances. Overall, when husbands share some of the

household responsibilities, they typically spend much less time in these activities than do

their wives.