Marital Power Structure: A Comparative Study of Decision Making in Working and Non Working Women

This study was conducted to get an insight into the marital power structure by comparison of the decision making in working and non working women. The study was carried out in Chandigarh and its satellite towns on a sample of 100 urban women of middle high to high S.E.S (50 working women and 50 non working women) belonging to nuclear and joint families. The tool used was a self prepared questionnaire by the investigator which was pretested. 't- test ' was applied to find the differences in working and non working women with regard to decision making, differences in nuclear and joint families and the role of other family members in decision making. The findings reveal working women having a higher decision making status as compared to non working women in their families. Authority in decision making was found more in nuclear families than in joint families of both working and non working women. Findings highlight considerable amount of syncratic decision making both working and non working women in nuclear families and that parents- in-law have more decision making power among families of non working women as compared to their counterparts. Results suggest that parents in law exert considerable influences in religious and some financial matters in a joint family.