Attitudes Toward Family and Gender Roles: A Comparison of English and French Canadian Women

Abstract

ZHENG WU** and DOUGLAS E. BAER*** Recent studies provide clear evidence of a profound transformation in attitudes toward family related behaviors and gender roles in much of the Western world over the past three decades. Research documenting these attitudinal changes calls attention to the increased acceptance of divorce, nonmarital cohabitation, unmarried parenthood, permanent nonmarriage, and voluntary childlessness (Morgan and Waite, 1987; Thornton, 1985, 1989; Thornton, Alwin and Camburn, 1983; Thornton and Freedman, 1979, 1982; Veevers, 1979). Norms for gender roles are also changing, with shifts toward a gender egalitarianism with respect to the appropriate roles of women and men in the family and workplace (Cherlin and Walters, 1981; Davis 1984; Mason, Czajka and Arber, 1976; Thornton, Alwin and Camburn, 1983; Thornton and Freedman, 1982). Accompanying these developments have been changes in the demographic profiles of many Western countries: marriage rates and childbearing rates have declined sharply; and divorce and nonmarital cohabitation have become commonplace (Bumpass, 1990; Espenshade, 1985; Dumas and Peron,1992). Evidence suggests that changing attitudes toward family life and gender roles have played a pivotal role in these recent demographic trends (Axinn and Thornton, 1993; Mason et al., 1976; Plotnick, 1992; Thornton et al., 1983; Thornton and Freedman, 1982). Despite rapid change in attitudes toward the family and gender roles, and the important ways in which these changes have influenced demographic outcomes, we have relatively little information concerning the determinants of these attitudes. Just how these attitudes are distributed across different social groups remains unclear. Are egalitarian attitudes relating to family issues universal across all social groups, or are they more pronounced in some groups than the others? In this paper, we focus on two distinct ethno-cultural groups in Canadian society: English Canadians and French Canadians. We develop and test the hypothesis that English Canadians retain attitudes and value orientations regarding family life and gender roles which differ from those of their French counterparts. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The expectation that attitudes toward family life and gender roles vary across ethnic groups derives from recent theoretical and empirical work in fertility studies. The conventional wisdom regarding fertility behavior has focused on the impact of structural changes in the economic system, particularly on the increased participation of women in the paid labor market (e.g., Westoff, 1983, 1986). Recently, however, a more sociological explanation, from a largely structural functionalist perspective, has gained much ground in mainstream demography (e.g., Lesthaeghe, 1980, 1983; Lesthaeghe and Surkyn, 1988; Preston, 1986;Ryder, 1980). Proponents of this perspective begin with the notion that human society controls the behavior of its members through basic norms (Lesthaeghe, 1980, 1983), or sets of relatively precise rules for human behavior in particular situations (Freedman, 1963). A society regulates its members to conform closely to norms in such a way that behaviors that benefit others are rewarded, while detrimental behaviors are punished (Preston, 1986:177). The complete set of norms in a society forms a value system, which comprises, in part, the culture of that society. While changes in societal norms often occur slowly and over long stretches of time (Preston, 1986), changes in a society's value system often occur during periods of massive social and structural changes. This is because when social changes occur, many members of the society are affected. Their established lifestyles and ways of thinking also are affected and often are challenged. In response to their common problem, members of the society are apt to develop a normative solution (Freedman, 1963:4). Such a solution involves the replacement of old norms with new attitudes and values, which often encourage individuals to break traditional behavior patterns (van de Kaa, 1987:6). …