Introduction: households, gender and the production of well-being

This introduction is organised around three thematic sections which also form a structure for the rest of the volume. The first section provides a critical assessment of different theoretical approaches to understanding the production of well-being and the gendered division of labour. This survey takes us from the neoclassical economic models that completely neglect household production as a contributor to well-being, to perspectives, like the Capability and feminist approaches, that not only recognize the household and family as critical to the production of well-being but also seek to open it up and reveal it as a site of inequality and conflict. This is in contrast to neoclassical approaches which tend to regard households and families as a singular and homogenous economic unit. Such perspectives aim to uncover the tensions and responsibilities that surround the production of well-being within households and the multidimensional nature of gender inequality, through the unequal distribution of labour, consumption and resources. This is a key theme that runs through the other chapters in this book. The second section focuses on gender inequalities in care and care work within households. Several chapters in this part of the book deal with historical examples and in our introduction we draw attention to the comparatively limited investigation of this theme among historians of the family and historical demographers. Beginning with observations made by writers and social reformers on the role of families and households in ensuring the well-being of vulnerable and dependent individuals in past European societies, our discussion considers some of the ways that gender has been important the provision of care. In an historical context this means considering the dynamics of intra-familial relations and systems of care, support and assistance when they become visible at key moments of household and family transition, such as at marriage or death. Contemporary analyses delve deeper into the multifaceted role played by women as care givers and as care receivers within households, exploring a variety of different institutional and economic contexts and drawing upon a wide range of statistical and qualitative sources. The third and final section of this chapter introduces the theme of gender inequalities and conflicts over the intra-household allocation of resources. It questions the assumption prevalent in the neoclassical literature that families and households can be treated as undifferentiated social or economic units. Considering issues such as consumption, decision making, resource allocation and the management of property and income – issues that feature in later chapters of the book – it examines patterns of inequality within households, examining their implications for the well-being of different household members.