Decision making power in domestic sphere: participation of professional Indian women in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor

Zuraini binti Jamil @ Osman

Abstract

In most of the societies, the decision making power of women is limited due to gender perspectives and cultural practices. Similarly in Indian society, patriarchy ideology is very common in which men are the main breadwinners and decision-makers of the family but this belief is gradually changing. Thus, this study aims to explore the participation of professional Indian women in the decision making power in the family on the aspect of household matters. Fifteen Indian women, who work in different professional sectors and live in Kuala Lumpur and the Selangor area, were selected for this study. A qualitative approach using one to one in-depth interview method was used to gather the primary data. The findings show that majority of the husbands are sharing the household chores equally with their wife but there are still some men who do not provide any assistance in doing house works. Moreover, women have freedom to decide on basic things but there are differences in practice for men and women in terms of outing planning with friends. This study also revealed that the participation of Indian women in the decision-making in their family have increased in terms of financial aspects and children affairs. Keywords: Professional Indian Women, Decision-Making Power, Family, Domestic Sphere, Equal Participation

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