Wage-Earning Patterns, Perceived Division of Domestic Labor, and Social Support: A Comparative Analysis of Educated Jewish and Arab-Muslim Israelis

Abstract

In a sample of educated men and women from dual-earner families, we examined differences between Israeli Jews (n = 116), living in a relatively egalitarian society, and Israeli Arab Muslims (n = 163), living in a relatively patriarchal–hierarchical society. Comparisons were made in terms of wage-earning pattern, division of domestic labor, and degree of support given to working people by various family sources, all based on self-reports. Findings indicate that perceived division of domestic labor is characteristically more traditional among Arab-Muslims than among Jews. Arab-Muslim men tend toward lesser participation in household tasks than do Jewish men, but take upon themselves a larger role in public tasks, which are of a representative nature. No differences were found between groups for wage earning: the dominant pattern is the man as primary wage earner (“traditional” pattern), followed by both spouses earning equal amounts (“modern” pattern), with few families in which the wife earns more (“innovative” pattern). In the traditional and innovative patterns, men tended to perform public tasks more than did men in modern wage-earning families. Arab-Muslims and Jews enjoy equal measures of social support; for both, the main source of support is the spouse, followed by the extended family, and then by the children.