The rise and decline of the 'male breadwinner family' in Britain

This paper examines changes in the historical 'compact' aroundthe male breadwinner family (MBWF) in Britain. The rise of theMBWF produced a 'compact' covering the sexual division of labour,the economic support of family members, the distribution oftime and the regulation of marriage and parenthood. Its declinehas been accompanied by an erosion of each dimension of thiscompact, which has reduced gender inequalities but producedother problems. The author argues that a new compact is requiredif solutions to these problems are to be combined with an extensionof gender equity. Particular attention is paid to the role ofshorter working hours as a component of different social arrangementsover time.