Models of the Family in Modern Societies: Ideals and Realities

This title was first published in 2003. This text reports on two nationally representative surveys of men and women in Britain and Spain, the former being funded by the Future of Work Research Programme and conducted by the ONS. Catherine Hakim presents a study of ideal models of the family and family roles, work orientation, patriarchal values and lifestyle preferences, showing how these impact on women's marital histories, fertility, employment patterns and occupational segregation, but not on men's labour market participation. Lifestyle preferences and work orientations have a strong impact on women's activities, and especially on married women's choices, but patriarchal values have almost no impact on behaviour. The book also covers educational homogamy, housing classes, labour mobility and contrasts between ethnic minority groups in core values and labour market participation.