The Invisible Hands: Sex Roles and the Division of Labor in Two Local Political Parties

Abstract

This is a study of the division of labor between men and women in the Democratic and Republican party organizations of a small New England town. Interviews, observations and logs kept by the town committee members revealed a difference in styles of performance that made men stand out more than women. Women's political activities more often took place in settings where they could not be seen, and the roles played by women were typically those without title or acknowledgement, while men usually held highly visible leadership positions. A similarity was observed between sex-linked roles and behavior patterns based in the family and the parts played in the political arena. Because of these differences women often were unnoticed and unrewarded even though they worked more than twice as many hours on political activities as did men during the study period. Also, women logged more than three times as many separate political interactions as men.