Diverse breadwinner models: a couple-based analysis of gendered working time in Britain and Denmark

A commonly used typology in the cross-national study of gendered working ti me depicts variation in the strength of a 'male-breadwinner' model. Yet the question at the heart of these comparisons is actually concerned with why differences in women's bread winning exist cross-nationally. In addition, t here is a growing awareness of the need to explore variation in gender cont racts within societies too, and class is a fundamental indicator of heterog eneity in women's bread winning. In this context, this paper investigates t wo societies characterized by somewhat different strength male-breadwinner models: Britain and Denmark. It examines the extent to which women can be s een to be 'breadwinner' workers in the household, and what policies facilit ate or impede their bread winning in the two societies. It is argued that a lthough gender-based breadwinner models usefully depict broad differences i n societal work patterns, their relative neglect of non-gendered dimensions of inequality - such as class - lead to their underestimating variety in w omen's experiences within societies and neglecting such non-gender-based fa ctors which may unite women cross-nationally.