Husbands' Occupational Attributes as Constraints on Wives' Employment

This paper draws attention to the implications of the husband's occupational role for the wife's employment by reviewing a widely dispersed literature. It is argued that central attributes of the husband's work role limit the sharing offamily work and put pressure on the wife to participate in the “two-person career” thereby limiting her own occupational participation and attainment. The socioeconomic rewards, career patterns, temporal requirements, geographical mobility pressures, and sex-typing of the husband's occupation are considered. Research is called for to investigate systematically: (1) the impacts of husbands' occupational attributes on wives' employment decision-making; (2) the effects of the “two-personcareer” pattern on men's, women's, and families' socioeconomic attainment; and (3) the new patterns of work and family integration that may be currently emerging.