Increasing Resource Inequality among Families in Modern Societies: The Mechanisms of Growing Educational Homogamy, Changes in the Division of Work in the Family and the Decline of the Male Breadwinner Model

Abstract

Many social inequality studies in modern societies take an individualistic approach. They analyse men and women as individuals and neglect marriage patterns and familial relationships. This often implies that men and women are all alike, that there are no important differences within households, and that employment chances and risks within the family are based on gender-free considerations. This article draws on the empirical results of several international comparative research projects to examine the impact of changes in union formation, the division of labour in couples and rising uncertainty in male breadwinner incomes on the development of social inequality between families in modern societies. The empirical findings support the view that such inequalities have grown significantly in the past decades due to the increasing accumulation of resources within higher qualified couples over the life course. This result would not have become visible in individualistic mobility or labour market studies.