Social Class of Men, Women and Families

Abstract

An increased interest in the social class position of women has followed the increased labour force participation of married women. But if more than one member of a family is assigned a class position independently of the other members, the two basic factors of class position, according to Lockwood, work situation and market situation, do not necessarily coincide, since the work situation relates uniquely to the individual, while the market situation refers to the family or household. It is suggested that work position, based on the occupations of individuals, should be used as an indicator of the work situation, and that class position, based on information about the occupations of those family members who carry the economic responsibility of the household, should be used as the indicator of the market situation. A way for ascribing a class position to families, and thereby to family members, is developed. It utilizes the work positions of both spouses and is based on an order of dominance, where occupations high in this order are presumed to influence the market situation of the family more than occupations of lower levels. Class positions of single individuals or families are thought to be rather stable over time. Although women are shown to have looser attachments to the labour market, we do not find more intragenerational mobility among women than among men, neither in terms of work position nor in terms of class.