Diverse breadwinner models: a couple-based analysis of gendered working time in Britain and Denmark

In: Journal of European social policy, Volume 10, Issue 4, p. 349-371

Abstract

A commonly used typology in the cross-national study of gendered working time depicts variation in the strength of a 'male-breadwinner' model. Yet the question at the heart of these comparisons is actually con-cerned with why differences in women's bread winning exist cross-nationally. In addition, there is a growing awareness of the need to explore variation in gender contracts within societies too, and class is a fundamental indi-cator of heterogeneity in women's bread winning. In this context, this paper investi-gates two societies characterized by somewhat different strength male-breadwinner models: Britain and Denmark. It examines the extent to which women can be seen to be 'bread-winner' workers in the household, and what policies facilitate or impede their bread winning in the two societies. It is argued that although gender-based breadwinner models usefully depict broad differences in societal work patterns, their relative neglect of non-gendered dimensions of inequality - such as class - lead to their underestimating variety in women's experiences within societies and neglecting such non-gender-based factors which may unite women cross-nationally.