Father-Child Relationships and the Status of Women: A Cross-Cultural Study

This research, based on a representative cross-cultural sample of 90 nonindustrial societies, tests the hypothesis that male participation in child rearing enhances the public status of women. Separate measures of paternal proximity, affection, and responsibility for routine child care are positively associated with female participation in community decision making, female access to position of authority, and female origin symbolism. Multiple regression and contingency table analyses indicate that father-child relationships have a significant effect on female status not accounted for by other social structural or child socialization variables. Statistical analyses and ethnographic comparisons suggest that the sexual division of labor in child care interacts with other institutionalized forms of male dominance to influence the relative position of women. Theoretical explanations for the link between gender-differentiated child rearing and public status are discussed.