Power & Decision-Making in Families (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Sharing of resources

• Inequalities often exist within households, both in who carries out domestic tasks and who benefits from the family’s income and resources

  • Barrett and McIntosh (1991) argue that:

    • Men receive far more from women’s unpaid domestic work than they offer in financial return

    • Financial support from men is often irregular and comes with conditions attached

    • Men typically control decisions on major purchases and spending

    • Money and resources, like food, are not distributed equally within families

  • Kempson (1994) found that in low-income households, women frequently prioritised their families’ needs, often going without or eating less to ensure their children were fed

Money management patterns

• Feminist sociologists Pahl and Vogler (1993) identified two main systems of financial control:

  • Allowance system: Men give wives a set budget for household costs while retaining control over remaining income

    Pooling system: Couples share their income and make spending decisions jointly

• However, even pooling does not guarantee equality, as one partner (often the man) may still dominate financial decisions

Personal life perspective on money

• The personal life perspective focuses on the meanings couples attach to money management, rather than assuming financial control always reflects power imbalance

  • Nyman (2003): The significance of money depends on how couples interpret who controls it

  • Vogler et al. (2006): Cohabiting couples are less likely to pool their income, often valuing financial independence

  • Weeks et al. (2001): Many couples pool money for shared bills but maintain separate accounts for personal spending

  • Smart (2007): Same-sex couples often view money management as reflecting equality and independence rather than control

Decision-making

• Where pooled income is controlled by the husband, this tends to give men more power in major financial decisions

• Edgell (1980): Men are more likely to make important financial decisions (e.g., property or car purchases), while women tend to handle day-to-day expenses (e.g., groceries).

  • Men’s higher earnings often give them more financial influence.

• Laurie and Gershuny (2000): By 1995, 70% of couples reported an equal say in decisions, particularly where women were high earners or had professional careers.

Cultural and material factors

• Crompton and Lyonette (2008) suggest that inequalities in financial decision-making arise from:

  • Cultural/ideological factors: Traditional gender roles teach men to dominate finances

  • Material factors: Men often earn more, giving them more control over household income

Domestic violence

• Women's Aid (opens in a new tab)defines domestic abuse as:

'an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer'

Prevalence

• The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2024) estimated that 2.3 million people aged 16+ experienced domestic abuse

• Domestic violence (DV) does not occur randomly but follows social patterns, with men being the main perpetrators

• Dobash and Dobash (1979) found DV often arises when men feel their authority is challenged (e.g., when wives question late arrivals home)

• They argue marriage legitimises male power, creating female dependency and normalising violence

Gender gap

• Most victims are women, though men also experience DV

• In 2024, 1.6 million women and 712,000 men were victims of domestic abuse (CSEW)

• Walby and Allen (2004) found women were far more likely than men to experience repeated abuse and sexual violence

• Ansara and Hindin (2011) note that women are more likely to be fearful of their partners

• Dar (2013) highlights that DV incidents are difficult to quantify, as abuse may be continuous rather than discrete

Issues with official statistics

• DV is underreported and underrecorded due to:

  • Victims’ reluctance to report (fear of reprisals, seeing it as trivial, or believing police won’t act)

  • Police and prosecutors often view the family as a private sphere or as inherently 'good', ignoring its darker side

  • The assumption that individuals are free agents, e.g., women are 'free to leave', which downplays structural barriers

Explanations of domestic violence

• Explanations of domestic violence are linked to Crompton and Lyonette's (2008) explanation of gender inequality:

  • The radical feminist explanation emphasises the role of patriarchal ideas, cultural values and institutions

  • The materialist explanation emphasises economic factors such as lack of resources

Radical feminist explanation

• Millett (1970) and Firestone (1970) argue DV is rooted in patriarchy, with men using violence to control women

• The family and marriage are viewed as key institutions of women’s oppression

• Male domination of the state means DV is often ignored or poorly policed

Evaluation

• Faith Robertson Elliot (1996) notes that not all men are violent, and women can also be perpetrators (including in lesbian relationships)

• Radical feminists assume all women are equally at risk but fail to account for differences

  • E.g., young women aged 16–19, women with disabilities, separated/divorced women, those on low incomes, and single parents are more vulnerable (ONS 2024)

Materialist explanation

• Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) link DV to social inequalities and financial stress rather than patriarchy alone

• Families with lower incomes face higher stress levels, which can trigger conflict and violence

• Those with less power, status, or wealth are at greater risk of abuse

Evaluation

• Wilkinson and Pickett's approach helps to explain class differences in the statistics on DV

• However, unlike the radical feminist approach, Wilkinson and Pickett do not explain why women, rather than men, are the main victims

• Marxist feminists add that DV stems from capitalist exploitation, with male frustration from work taken out on women

  • This does not explain why not all men are violent, nor does it explain cases of female DV