Organization

I. Introduction

1. Attention Getter: Would you vote for a system in which half of us work only one job and the other half of us work two and everyone gets equal rewards? No? Well that’s the system that most families in this country operate under today.
2. Thesis Statement: Women’s double shift in paid labor and homemaking and child care has negative effects on them personally and on marriages.
3. Preview: In the nest few minutes, I will show that the majority of married women work a double shift while their husbands work only a single shift. I will then trace the harmful effects of this inequitable division of labor.

II. Body

1. The majority of married women today work two jobs: one in the paid labor market and a second one when they get home from their paid jobs.

1. Most families today have two wage earners.

1. Only 17% have one earner.
2. The increase in working wives has been matched by only a 10% increase in husbands’ work in the home – from 20% to 30% in 3 decades.

2. Only 20% of husbands in two-worker families do 50% of the homemaking and child care.

1. Example of chores couples do.
2. Reasons husbands give for doing less: quotes (see separate cards).

3. The trend for women to assume the majority of responsibilities for homemaking and child care holds true for all groups, but it does vary somewhat among races, educational levels, and socioeconomic classes.

1. Working-class husbands are likely to do more and to resent homemaking chores less than middle-class husbands.

1. i. Example of Jacob and Ina.

ii. Example of John and Jennifer.

1. Better educated couple achieve a more balanced division of home labor, although women still do more than 50% (bar graph).

4. Women’s double shift doesn’t vary regardless of how much income they earn or even if they earn more income than their husbands.

a. Detailed example of Jeremy and Nancy – she earns 140% of his salary and still does 80% of the homemaking and child care.

b. Statistics (study by Hochschild, with Machung, 1989).

Transition: Now that we’ve seen how the double shift works and how pervasive it is, let's consider its effects.

1. The double shift harms women’s health and creates stress in marriages.

1. Working a double shift harms women physically and psychologically.

1. Undetailed examples of physical harm: sleep deprivation, reduced immunity to infections, susceptibility to illnesses.
2. Researchers report higher levels of stress and unhappiness (see quotes on separate cards).

2. The double shift women work also erodes marital satisfaction.

1. Women resent husbands who don’t pull their fair share.

i. Example of Marion.

ii. Study of resentment.

1. Inequitable divisions of home shores and marital stability than income or other marital stresses.

1. Divorce statistics.

ii. Quote from therapist (see separate card).

Transition: Now you know what the double shift is and how it harms women and marriages, but how does this apply to you?

III. Conclusion

A. Summary: I’ve shown you that the majority of wives today work a double shift while their husbands do not. This is not only unfais, it is also harmful to women's health and to the satisfaction and stability of marriages.