The Division of Household Labor

Abstract

In this chapter we review research on the division of household labor and its consequences. The review summarizes research focused on issues of measurement, including research on methods of gathering data on housework time and time use in general and discussions of various ways to operationalize the division of household labor. Some attention is paid to historical and theoretical work on housework and women's responsibility for it in particular, followed by a more detailed discussion of current empirical approaches to explaining the division of household labor as well as criticisms of these approaches. Finally, we review research that examines the consequences of the division of household labor, focusing on those studies that examine its impact on labor force participation and wages, marital and family satisfaction, psychological well-being, and perceptions of fairness.

Cultural and Gender Differences in Gender-Role Beliefs, Sharing Household Task and Child-Care Responsibilities, and Well-Being Among Immigrants and Majority Members in The Netherlands

“…Still, a stronger association was found for males than for females. This finding is in line with studies which indicate that men's gender-role beliefs are more strongly associated with the division of household task than are women's (Shelton and John 1996). The strength and significance of the association also varied across cultural groups: The strongest relation was found in the Moroccan-Dutch sample.…”

“…Besides more egalitarian gender-role beliefs, domestic task division is considered as an important indicator of gender (and marital) equality (Steil 1997). More egalitarian gender-role beliefs are associated with more sharing of domestic labor (Xu and Lai 2004), although the strength of the association is usually weak (Shelton and John 1996). The gender division in paid labor continues to dissolve; yet, the division of household labor remains gendered (Blossfeld and Drobnic 2001).…”

“…The few American studies that have addressed cultural differences in the division of household labor have yielded mixed results. Some studies conclude that African-American families are more egalitarian in their division of household labor than are European-American families (Ross 1987;Shelton and John 1996) while other researchers argue that the division of household labor in the African-American family is unequal and firmly gendered (Broman 1991;Cronkite 1977;Hossain and Roopnarine 1993). Golding (1990) argues that the division of labor in Mexican-American families is more traditional than in European-American families, mainly because of differences in educational level.…”

Father Identity, Involvement and Work–Family Balance: An In‐depth Interview Study

“…Men's and women's family and occupational roles have shifted considerably over the past number of decades in Western cultures. In particular the widespread entry of women into the labor market, together with the feminist agenda over the past four decades, has served to challenge the assumption that women's primary adult role is that of caregiver responsible for both home and family (Shelton & John, 1996). As a consequence, but perhaps more slowly, societal expectations of men's involvement in the home and as parents has also changed (Ranson, 2012).…”

Mares sobrecarregades. Factors que causen més dedicació de les mares en el treball domèstic

“…La majoria de les investigacions sobre la distribució del treball domèstic es basa en la divisió de gènere, però hi ha tres factors que han centrat el debat teòric sobre el procés de la distribució del treball domèstic: els recursos relatius, la disponibilitat de temps i la ideologia de gènere (Bianchi et al, 2000;Shelton i John, 1996;Marini i Shelton, 1993).…”