Final answer:
Although countries promoting relationship equality have made progress, women still carry out more child care duties than men due to social norms and economic barriers. Subsidized child care policies help, but disparities remain significant, particularly among Black families. Financial control by women within families can result in better health outcomes for children and spending reflecting family needs.
Step-by-step explanation:
In countries that promote relationship equality, studies and observations indicate that women still tend to shoulder a greater share of child care responsibilities. Despite strides towards egalitarian ideals in household roles, particularly in dual-earner families, social and economic constraints maintain the traditional division of labor. Women's greater share of unpaid labor, such as child care, persists even as they increasingly participate in the workforce.
In many societies that aim for gender equality, structural barriers and ingrained social norms continue to assign a disproportionate amount of domestic duties to women. The stress from work-family conflict and the economic impact of child care, acting as a regressive tax on work, are especially burdensome for women. Moreover, policies that offer child care support and subsidies are critical in facilitating women's participation in the labor market and can have a significant impact on family spending habits and children's health.
However, it is worth noting that when mothers control a larger share of the family income, there tends to be better health outcomes for children and a shift towards spending that reflects family welfare, such as on child care and women's clothing. When looking at African American families, disparities in labor market participation and wage inequalities have maintained a situation where black women, in particular, continue to bear a heavier burden in terms of family and child care responsibilities.