AbstractAmongst the key dimensions of population and labour market change in most parts of western Europe and other similar economies in the 1990s are low fertility rates, rising numbers of smaller households, increasing female participation rates, growth in higher level non‐manual occupations and the spread of flexible employment patterns. This paper explores how these trends have led to an increase in the number and significance of one particular subgroup: dual career households. An overview from available secondary sources of the geography and socio‐economic characteristics of such households in Britain is presented, and directions for possible future research on dual career households are outli