| It has been estimated that women who are employed full-time outside of the home perform roughly two-thirds of all household work. Surprisingly, some women, although they bear a greater burden of household labour, perceive their situation as fair. What do these women understand by the notion of fairness? The main goal of this research is to gain a better understanding of women's perceptions of fairness, including their perspectives regarding extant theories, and to generate grounded theory. In Phase One of the study, 15 participants were asked to complete a brief questionnaire. In Phase Two, four women who had completed the questionnaire participated in a qualitative interview. The qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Results suggest that the participants performed more household tasks than their husbands because they chose to do more. Their perceptions of fairness were based on an assessment of their choice to do more, both partners' time availability, their feelings toward their husbands, and parental influences. Finally, there was a process of evaluation regarding feelings of resentment which ultimately led to feelings of fairness. The women expressed agreement with certain aspects of some extant theories; for the most part, however, the theories were not compatible with their experiences or views. The current findings, unlike many of the extant theories, attribute the motivation for the women's behaviour to internal factors that result from processes of evaluation, rather than an acceptance of women's role as prescribed by society. |
