2000; Hackel & Ruble, 1992; Ruble et al., 1988). Therefore, a closer examination of

parenting roles and the differences that emerge in these roles for mothers and fathers is

warranted.

The Influence of Gender on Parenting Roles

 As noted above, couples experience many challenges upon the transition to

parenthood. These challenges are often highly influenced by gender, and therefore the

purpose of this section is to detail how gender influences parenting roles. Defining gender

is an important first step in this examination: It is "more than an individual characteristic

of females and males, and more than a role assumed by or assigned to women and men.

Gender in families includes structural constraints and opportunities, beliefs and ideology,

actual arrangements and activities, meanings and experiences, diversity and change, and

interaction and relation" (Thompson & Walker, 1989, pp. 845-846). These aspects of

how gender works in families are particularly relevant when considering issues of

equality and fairness in the development of parenting roles.

 As has been described in the literature, couples who had relatively egalitarian

relationships prior to the birth of their child typically find themselves in "traditional"

roles highly influenced by stereotypical notions of gender once they become parents

(Cowan & Cowan, 2000; Crohan, 1996; Fox, 2001; Hackel & Ruble, 1992; Hock,

Schirtzinger, Lutz, & Widaman, 1995; Ruble et al., 1988; Steil, 1997; Thompson &

Walker, 1989; Walzer, 1996). As couples' roles and experiences become more divided

along these traditional gender lines, couples may feel a decreased sense of intimacy as

well as decreased satisfaction in their relationship (Cowan & Cowan, 2000; Cowan et al.,

1985; Hackel & Ruble, 1992; Hock et al., 1995; Lewis, 1989); past commonalities may

be overshadowed by the current focus on different domains, and men and women may