[The Prestige of Housewives in Germany-A Quantitative-Empirical Analysis of Differential Perceptions].

Abstract

The employment rate of women has increased markedly over the past decades, both internationally and in Germany, whereas the classic male breadwinner model is eroding. Against this background, using current survey data, the aim of this study is to examine the social prestige of the shrinking group of housewives whose main activity is domestic and family work. The analyses address, on the one hand, the question of how high their reputation is generally rated by the population in Germany and, on the other hand, whether the perceptions differ systematically by raters' sociodemographic characteristics. The empirical findings show that the reputation of housewives in Germany is generally rated higher than that of the unemployed and of those in helper jobs but lower than for those in professional jobs at the skilled level. Moreover, the assessments of housewives' prestige vary significantly according to the social group (birth cohort, level of education, labor force participation, gender) to which the respondents belong. Further analyses of interaction effects also reveal a differentiated interaction of the gender variable with the other structural group characteristics. The paper concludes with a detailed discussion of the results and an outlook on future research.