Conflicts and compromises in safety and decision making

Pamela Elkind, Department of Sociology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA and Sue Marie Wright, Department of Sociology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA

Purpose: Farm family decision-making is a significant process affecting the way of life and well-being of the family as a unit. It is essential that researchers and program developers understand the dynamic of couple decision-making to better address issues of health and safety protection.

There are contradictions within the couple relationship. One such contradiction involves an espoused belief that decisions are made equally by the couple in verbal communication. However, women’s stories of decision-making reinforce the traditional male dominated process, historically documented, in family farm life. An explanation offered by one respondent is that “the one who does the majority of the actual farm work makes most of the decisions.”

Women as members of farm families share the goal of maintaining the skills and values related to their “way of life” in order to “pass it on” to future generations. Here we consider the more traditional versus more egalitarian farm family structures and their effects on couple decision-making with respect to issues of health and safety on the farm. We hypothesize that farm wives are aware of the contradictions in their relationships and are willing to make sacrifices or compromises in order to reach their goal. Often, though off-farm labor is necessary, they remain productive farm workers, keep the books, and take the mandated courses in first aid or pesticide handling. Whether they are perceived as working on the farm and knowledgeable about farm matters is related to family background in farming and traditional thinking.
Methods: To observe the effects of traditional versus egalitarian family structure on the hypothesis a multi-staged qualitative approach has been employed. Focus groups followed by two-hour extensive open?ended interviews are analyzed. The results are tested through intervention workshops with a pre/posttest survey design. Information is recorded from the study’s 96 participants to evaluate the hypothesis.
Results: The extant literature reinforces our findings that women are aware of farm hazards and feel responsible for the health and safety of their family members and workers. However, these issues are treated as secondary to fiscal and production concerns by their spouses and other significant community members. Thus, in matters of health and safety, there is a conflict between their feelings of responsibility and their ability to influence decisions. Results suggest that in a more egalitarian relationship their influence is greater. However, in order for the women in egalitarian relationships to have more decision making power three criteria are generally met: (1) they must be perceived by their spouses as knowledgeable about farm practices, (2) regularly involved in farm activities, and (3) agree with them on outcome goals. If the criteria are met, and the couple has a fairly egalitarian relationship, it is likely that the wife will have a good deal of influence in the decision making process. Such couples are likely to display a positive orientation toward the importance of safety protection and expert information to protect their families.

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