Personal Motives for Paid Work

I ran across an interesting quote today in an article:

[W]ives may be perceived as having personal motives for working outside the home rather than doing it fo the family's welfare.

This is from A.M. Parkman, "Bargaining over housework: the frustrating situation of secondary wage earners" in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Oct. 2004.

I found this to be an interesting quote and it corresponds with what I have observed among parents and commentators. Men who work tend to be seen as doing it for the good of the family, even though they accrue personal benefits, but women are often seen as choosing to work for personal benefit (rather than doing it primarily for the benefit of the family).