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Journal of Happiness Studies
Published in: Journal of Happiness Studies 1/2021

15-02-2020 | Research Paper

‘Only a Housewife?’ Subjective Well-Being and Homemaking in South Africa

Authors: Dorrit Posel, Janet Bruce-Brand

Published in: Journal of Happiness Studies | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Over the past 50 years, a sizeable literature has developed that investigates the subjective well-being implications for women of being full-time homemakers. However, this research is limited in focus, to women in developed countries who are typically married or in cohabiting unions and where the alternative to specializing in household production is employment. In this study, we contribute to the literature by exploring the relationship between full-time homemaking and subjective well-being in South Africa, a developing country where family formation often does not involve a conjugal unit, and where unemployment or economic inactivity are as likely alternatives to full-time homemaking as employment. Our analysis of national longitudinal data shows that specializing in household production is clearly less satisfying for women than being employed, and particularly among unmarried women. However, being without any activity is the least satisfying of all. Further analysis reveals that the benefits of employment derive specifically from regular employment (as opposed to casual employment), and that controlling for socio-economic status eliminates the relative dissatisfaction of homemakers at the cross-section, but not that of unemployed or inactive women.
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Footnotes
1
In post-apartheid South Africa, four ‘racial’ categories are included in all household surveys and the population census: African/black (who account for approximately 80 percent of the population), Coloured, Indian and white.
 
2
In Warr’s model, employment is associated with “vitamins” that are needed for good mental health.
 
3
Results are available from the authors.
 
4
NIDS collects comprehensive information on income from each individual in the household. Household income is the aggregation of net income from wage and self-employment, income from social grants and social insurance (unemployment income and worker compensation), income from subsistence agriculture (both from sales and own consumption), private pensions, dividends, interest earned, rental income and remittances.
 
5
The models do not control directly for receipt of social grants, and particularly the Child Support Grant or the social pension, as receipt is highly correlated with the presence (and number) of children and pensioners in the household respectively. Analogously, the presence of men in the household is highly correlated with a woman’s marital status and is also not included as an independent covariate.
 
6
These correlations would be consistent with bi-directional causality. For example, because women are employed, they are less likely to have children; but if women have fewer children, they are also more likely to find employment.
 
7
The F statistic for the comparison of coefficients for homemaker and unemployed is 11.26; for homemaker versus inactive, it is 34.52; and for unemployed compared to inactive it is 8.51.
 
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Metadata
Title
‘Only a Housewife?’ Subjective Well-Being and Homemaking in South Africa
Authors
Dorrit Posel
Janet Bruce-Brand
Publication date
15-02-2020
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Happiness Studies / Issue 1/2021
Print ISSN: 1389-4978
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7780
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00232-w

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