Women, Men, Work, and Family: Expansionist Theory Updated

Abstract

In 2001, Barnett and Hyde proposed an expansionist theory, which argues that multiple roles (e.g., worker, spouse, and parent) are beneficial for both women and men. This chapter updates that work, roughly 14 years later. Women's and men's roles continue to change compared with earlier decades. For example, today women outnumber men in college, and women constitute 49.4 % of the US workforce. Newer scientific evidence continues to support expansionist theory. Multiple roles appear to be beneficial for adults' mental, physical, and relationship health, and for children of parents who hold multiple roles. However, I raise concerns about research designs in which scientists reach causal conclusions based on cross-sectional, correlational designs. Additional evidence has accumulated in support of processes that were hypothesized to contribute to the benefits of multiple roles: buffering, added income, increased social support, and increased self-complexity. Moderators of the effects of multiple roles include gender-role ideology and role quality. Important new trends to consider in work--family research are same-sex marriage and the ``New Economy'' with its belief that workers should be available 24/7. The approach of intersectionality can now be fruitfully applied to this area of research.