Families are not democracies. Each family has its own way of deciding who has the power and the authority within the family unit. Recently, family life has been changing and so has the role mothers and fathers play at work and at home. As more women are beginning to enter the workforce, the roles that parents have in the household are, in some cases, becoming more equal. 

“Power is pretty much equal in my family,” sophomore Adam Pankau said. “Roles in our family depend on schedules. My dad’s schedule is usually more extreme than my moms. Therefore, my mom works more around the house, especially since it is easier for her because she works from home. My dad and mom are also equal when it comes to setting rules in the house.” 

However, not all parents within families have equal power because one parent may have more time on their hands than the other. In today’s society, it does not matter if the male or the female is considered to have more power, but in the past it was different. 

According to Pew Research Center, a survey found that 43 percent of all couples say that it is the woman that makes more decisions in more areas than the man. Along with that, three in ten couples split the decision making. 

There are many factors that go into how a family uniquely establishes who has more power in the family, or if it is going to be equal. Every family runs differently. The factors could be who has the most free time, who works the most, or who makes the most money. 

“My mom has more power in the family because she is always at home,” junior Noah Welch said. “Although this is true, both my parents set the rules because they both like to have a say.” 

In each unique family, power is distributed differently between parents. In recent years, some families have begun to distribute power between both of the parents more equally. Women have become more independent with their jobs, which may be the reason they may not have as much time to spend working around the house as they did in the past. Although this is true in some cases, not all families have adapted this new style of living.