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Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite

Publication ,  Journal Article
Yavorsky, JE; Keister, LA; Qian, Y; Thébaud, S
Published in: Social Forces
December 1, 2023

In recent decades, the financial elite have seen their economic resources grow significantly, while the income and wealth of other households have stagnated. The financial elite includes couples who are super-rich (top one percent), rich (the 90th–99th percentile), and upper-middle class (the 80th–89th percentile). Gendered work–family arrangements in top economic groups may contribute to inequality—particularly to wealth accumulation among the elite—but relatively little is known about how these couples divide paid and unpaid work or the extent to which their arrangements differ from other couples. In this study, we uncover novel work and family patterns and trends in the most economically powerful families in the United States. We use the Survey of Consumer Finances (1989–2019) to compare the household division of labor across income and wealth groups and over time, with a focus on financial elites. We find stark contrasts between super-rich couples and other couples in the division of labor. Specifically, super-rich couples are much more likely than all other couples, including rich and upper-middle class couples, to have a traditional male breadwinner–female homemaker/caregiver arrangement. Importantly, the striking patterns of traditional arrangements in the top one percent have not changed in 30 years and, as we uncover, appear to be driven by a couple’s wealth rather than income. These findings suggest that work–family arrangements may be an integral component of economic and gender inequality.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Social Forces

DOI

EISSN

1534-7605

ISSN

0037-7732

Publication Date

December 1, 2023

Volume

102

Issue

2

Start / End Page

609 / 632

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 1608 Sociology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Yavorsky, J. E., Keister, L. A., Qian, Y., & Thébaud, S. (2023). Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite. Social Forces, 102(2), 609–632. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soad061
Yavorsky, J. E., L. A. Keister, Y. Qian, and S. Thébaud. “Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite.” Social Forces 102, no. 2 (December 1, 2023): 609–32. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soad061.
Yavorsky JE, Keister LA, Qian Y, Thébaud S. Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite. Social Forces. 2023 Dec 1;102(2):609–32.
Yavorsky, J. E., et al. “Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite.” Social Forces, vol. 102, no. 2, Dec. 2023, pp. 609–32. Scopus, doi:10.1093/sf/soad061.
Yavorsky JE, Keister LA, Qian Y, Thébaud S. Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite. Social Forces. 2023 Dec 1;102(2):609–632.
Journal cover image

Published In

Social Forces

DOI

EISSN

1534-7605

ISSN

0037-7732

Publication Date

December 1, 2023

Volume

102

Issue

2

Start / End Page

609 / 632

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 1608 Sociology