Abstracts Psychology

The effects of anticipated domestic equality on undergraduate women’s career ambitions

by Janell Cora Fetterolf

Previous research has found that young women consistently anticipate “the second shift” (Hochschild, 1989) in their future marriages, defined as disparities in domestic work that disadvantage them, even when they envision situations that should facilitate domestic equality (e.g., earning more money than their spouse; Fetterolf & Eagly, 2011; Fetterolf & Rudman, 2012). The present study examined (1) the influence of information about marital trends on young women’s expected domestic equality, and (2) the influence of young women’s expected domestic equality on their future career ambitions. Participants, who were undergraduate women, read one of three different newspaper articles indicating trends in the distribution of domestic work: (1) domestic equality as the new norm, (2) stalled progress toward domestic equality, or (3) a reversal of inequality, with men responsible for more of the domestic work than women. Participants then indicated their plans for their future careers, as well as their expectations for domestic equality in their own future marriages. Surprisingly, the domestic trends in the articles did not have much of an influence on participants’ expected domestic or paid labor. Across all conditions, participants expected to do a larger proportion of the housework than their spouse, and to earn less money for their work, while also working the same number of hours outside the home as their spouse (except in the stalled condition, where they expected to work less hours in paid employment). Additionally, participants’ anticipated domestic labor was negatively correlated with their anticipated work hours, although it was not associated with other future career outcomes (e.g., salary). Overall, the present study suggests that domestic inequality is entrenched in young women’s expectations. The implications for gender equality are discussed.