| Summary: | Within the study of kinship amongst “new world” populations, issues of matrifocality and changing family formation among peoples of African descent have been a key concern. Previous studies have attempted to “explain” the origins of so-called female dominance in the domestic realm either with theories of cultural retention of West African patterns or the structural harshness of the slave system. Though these debates are often useful and informative they do not adequately problematize the degree to which women, regardless of family type, exist under European notions of family life which define housework as “women's work”. Therefore, this study looks within conjugal families to determine if women's labor in the household varies across racial grouping. This study focuses on African (Afro) and East Indian (Indo) Guyanese women located in conjugal (either married or cohabiting) unions. Emphasis is placed on defining gender role expectations within each racial grouping and evaluating what other factors (e.g. education, employment, family income and structure) may impact and alter sex-specific conjugal roles. Specifically, this analysis examines the variation in the division of labor, as defined as housework, child care, and domestic decision-making. We find that both Afro- and Indo-Guyanese women report primary responsibility for housework and are likely to share decision-making authority with their mates. In terms of childcare, however, Afro-Guyanese women reported higher levels of responsibility. Empirical evidence is drawn from a survey of data collected of families in the Greater Georgetown area, the capital and urban center of Guyana. The sample consists of 178 women, 70 East Indian and 108 Africa, who were either married or cohabiting at the time the survey was administered in 1987. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
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