Abstract
The work of the British sociologist Catherine Hakim has been used prominently to support ‘neo-traditionalist’ approaches to gender, work and family. Hakim (2000, 2002) argues that, in modern affluent societies, virtually all women have a genuine choice between family work and market work. Further, women make their choice based on their preference for a particular lifestyle: work-centred, home-centred or one that combines paid work and time with family. We argue that Hakim’s preference theory is flawed. It fails, in particular, to account for phenomenon of ‘adaptive preferences’, whereby women adjust their preferences in response to persistent gender inequality and make a conscious decision not to play by the current rules of the game. We also argue that women’s paid work cannot be isolated from their unpaid work. Instead we must address the critical questions about care: who does it, under what conditions and how are the costs shared? Overcoming gender inequality therefore demands much more radical social change than has occurred to date.
Highlights
A number of recent magazine and newspaper articles have highlighted women who willingly toss in their high paid professional or managerial jobs to stay at home with their children24
Hakim’s approach does not deal with the crucial phenomenon of ‘adaptive preferences’, whereby women adjust their preferences in response to persistent gender inequality
In this paper we turn our attention to preference formation and in particular the problem of adaptive preferences
Summary
A number of recent magazine and newspaper articles have highlighted women who willingly toss in their high paid professional or managerial jobs to stay at home with their children. A number of recent magazine and newspaper articles have highlighted women who willingly toss in their high paid professional or managerial jobs to stay at home with their children24 These women are educated and have tasted success in the world of paid work. They had the option of returning to work but chose to put their family first. The British sociologist Catherine Hakim would have no difficulty explaining this phenomenon She argues that, in modern affluent societies, virtually all women have a genuine choice between family work and market work.
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