Witchy Woman

"When the Obamas move to Washington, they will establish a dream household in America's most storied house. They will also follow a tried and true pattern in today's modern, egalitarian-minded capitalist societies. More often than not, men get jobs and the family moves, with wives and children following the male lead.

An idealistic economic theory of couples says that husbands and wives want the most income for the family as a whole, so the career of the higher-earning spouse determines job-related family moves. That's why, some economists say, research shows women are more likely to be out of the labor force after a couple moves.

If you think it's better for women to take care of children (and clean houses), this all makes sense. If couples stay together, cooperate fully, and share everything equally, then this pattern would not contribute to inequality between husbands and wives. But if divorce is common, resources and labor are contested within families, and work-family decisions are negotiated between unequal partners, then we need to see job moves as one important way that gender inequality is reinforced."