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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research pp 2451–2453Cite as

Gender Role Attitudes

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Synonyms

Attitudes; Gender values; Gender-related attitudes

Definition

“Gender role attitudes” refer to views held by individuals regarding the roles men and women should play in society. It is a term most often used with respect to the distinction between paid and unpaid work. When individuals agree that a traditional division of labor between men and women – with men in the role of breadwinner and women in the role of homemaker – is advisable, they are considered to have traditional gender role attitudes. This is independent of their own behavior. When they do not agree with such a division of labor and instead want a more equal division of labor, they are considered to have egalitarian or modern gender role attitudes.

Description

Origin

In all societies, tasks are divided partly on the basis of sex. How they are divided between the sexes, however, varies from one society to the next and over time (Padavic & Reskin, 2002). Industrialization and the emergence of a labor force gave...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology | ICS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Mariska van der Horst

Authors
  1. Mariska van der Horst
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mariska van der Horst .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  2. (residence), Brandon, MB, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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van der Horst, M. (2014). Gender Role Attitudes. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1135

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