Choices and Constraints in a Two-Person Career: Ideology, Division of Labor, and Well-Being among Submarine Officers' Wives

The structure of the submariner officer career, with heavy demands placed on the wife, is examined to describe the extent to which wives' attitudes and behavior conform, and the extent to which women are satisfied with their role. Using Janet Saltzman Chafetz's model of gender stratification, it was hypothesized that wives with traditional gender attitudes would be more involved and exhibit higher personal well-being, satisfaction with the Navy, and life satisfaction. The results support the hypothesis, especially with regard to satisfaction with Navy life, where women with more traditional attitudes are more involved in and more satisfied with Navy life. Less traditional wives evaluated their involvement less positively, as involvement was not associated with well-being outcomes. The suggestion is made that for satisfied, involved, and less traditional wives, the structure of the submariner career might allow women more control over resources in exchange for gendered division of labor, which may be a motivation to perform the labor. In general, the results support Chafetz's attention to micro and macro processes in the maintenance of gender stratification.