They argue that not only has the family evolved because of stratified diffusion, but also there are several other reasons for why there is now symmetry in households of today. One of these is that women have become more independent and become paid workers. Because of this the females are not at home as much to look after children and do all the housework and so it has had to be shared. Also, families have become smaller so jobs have been shared and living standards have rose and home has become a more attractive place to spend leisure time.
However, Stephen Edgell disagrees with Wilmott and Young's belief that there is more equality within couples. He studied middle class couples in 1980 and he found that from a sample of 38 professional couples that women controlled decision-making in areas such as food, clothes, and household decoration purchases and husbands had the main say in what were regarded as serious decisions such as moving house or buying expensive items such as cars. His study casts doubts on the views of Wilmott and Young, who say that middle class couples are in the forefront of changes towards more equality within marriages.
Another sociologist who disagrees with Wilmott and Young's view is Ann Oakley. She collected information from 40 married women who were between the ages of 20 and 30, British or Irish born and had one or more children under the age of 5. She found greater equality in terms of the allocation of domestic tasks between partners in middle rather than working class. However, she also found that few men do a lot of housework or childcare, and only 15% of men had a high participation in household duties and only 2.3% helped out with childcare. To an extent, she found that Wilmott and Young were correct when they said that the division of labour within couples has become more equal throughout the years. She also believes that we have become as we are today through a process of stratified diffusion as she found more equality in middle class couples than working class couples.
