Fairness Perceptions of the Division of Household Labor: Housework and Childcare

An unequal division of housework has been found to be often regarded as fair, which may explain why women still do most household labor. This study extends previous research by also investigating childcare—an increasingly important part of household labor, which is likely to have a different meaning than housework. It examines how perceptions of fairness for both housework and childcare are influenced by the division of housework, childcare, and paid labor, and whether patterns differ by gender. Data from the Netherlands (men: N = 462; women: N = 638) show that unequal divisions of housework, and especially childcare, are often perceived as fair. When it comes to how an increasingly unequal household labor division is related to unfairness, associations are stronger for women than for men. Fairness of the household labor division is evaluated in relation to total workload and not in isolation from other types of labor.

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Couple-Level Predictors of Perceived Fairness During Pregnancy in First-Time Parents

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x15594206 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 55-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alynn E. Gordon ◽

Kristin D. Mickelson

Keyword(s):

Spousal Support ◽

Household Labor ◽

Perceived Fairness ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Perceptions Of Fairness ◽

First Child ◽

Division Of Housework ◽

First Time ◽

Influence Perceptions ◽

Level Of Analysis

Researchers have suggested that apart from the actual division of household labor, housework ideology and spousal support also influence perceptions of fairness regarding the division of household labor. Furthermore, although only individual perceived fairness predictors are typically examined, researchers acknowledge that an individual’s perceived fairness is often contingent on a combination of characteristics within a couple. In addition to self-perceived fairness, we examined perceptions of fairness for spouse in 104 couples expecting their first child. Results indicate that couple-level actual division of housework and housework ideology significantly predict perceptions of fairness. Furthermore, our data provide evidence to suggest that some predictors’ influence may depend on the level of analysis (couple vs. individual), as well as the type of perceived fairness examined (self vs. spouse). Findings illustrate the importance of considering predictors at the dyadic level, as well as examining self-perceived fairness and spousal perceived fairness as separate constructs.

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The Second Shift and the Nonstandard Shift: How Working Nonstandard Hours Affects the Relationship between the Division of Household Labor and Wives’ Fairness Perceptions

Work and Family in the New Economy - Research in the Sociology of Work ◽

10.1108/s0277-283320150000026002 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 35-59

Author(s):

Katie James ◽

Jody Clay-Warner

Keyword(s):

Household Labor ◽

Fairness Perceptions ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Second Shift ◽

The Relationship ◽

Nonstandard Hours

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Perceived Housework Equity, Marital Happiness, and Divorce in Dual-Earner Households

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x02238520 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 51-73 ◽

Cited By ~ 200

Author(s):

Michelle L. Frisco ◽

Kristi Williams

Keyword(s):

Marital Quality ◽

Household Labor ◽

Marital Happiness ◽

Perceived Fairness ◽

Men And Women ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Dual Earner ◽

Division Of Housework ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

The Relationship

This study uses a nationally representative sample of individuals involved in dual-earner marriages to examine the relationship between perceived fairness of housework completion, marital happiness, and divorce. The authors expected to find that perceived inequality in the division of housework causes tension between spouses that leads to decreased marital quality for both men and women. They further speculated that an unfair division of household labor might contribute to a greater likelihood of divorce. Results indicate that perceived inequity in the division of household labor is negatively associated with both husbands[#X2019] and wives[#X2019]reported marital happiness but is positively associated with the odds of divorce among wives only. Little evidence indicates that marital happiness mediates this relationship. The authors propose that unfair perceptions of the division of household labor not only decrease women[#X2019]s marital quality but also lead to role strain that makes them more likely to end unsatisfying marriages.

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Division of Household Labor and Relationship Dissolution in Denmark 2001–2009

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x20949890 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0192513X2094989

Author(s):

Gert Thielemans ◽

Peter Fallesen ◽

Dimitri Mortelmans

Keyword(s):

Household Labor ◽

Relationship Dissolution ◽

Union Dissolution ◽

Household Tasks ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Use Of Time ◽

Egalitarian Society ◽

Time Use Survey ◽

Division Of Housework ◽

Time Varying Covariates

This article studies how the gender division in time spent on housework is associated with relationship dissolution among Danish couples. The use of time diary information on the actual time spent on housework for both partners leads to more precise measures than in previous studies. Two waves of the Danish Time Use Survey provided data on 3,434 couples linked to information from the Danish administrative population registries to observe union dissolution. Late entry hazard models were estimated to analyze how men’s contributions predicted dissolution risk after controlling for couple specific time-constant and time-varying covariates. The results show a U-shaped relationship between division of household labor and union dissolution with lowest risk when men provided 40% of the time on household tasks. Couples with the most unequal division of housework were the least stable. Even in a gender egalitarian society, women still perform more of the housework for relationships to be stable.

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Longitudinal Associations Between Household Labor Division Inequity and Conflict Among Newlywed Couples

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x21993185 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0192513X2199318

Author(s):

Megan J. Adelson ◽

Jackie A. Nelson ◽

Mariam Hafiz

Keyword(s):

Demand Response ◽

Household Labor ◽

Panel Survey ◽

Heterosexual Couples ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Latent Trajectory ◽

Labor Division ◽

Trajectory Models ◽

Longitudinal Associations ◽

Newly Married

The division of household labor among couples is a frequently occurring topic of conflict. The present investigation examined longitudinal associations between inequities in household labor divisions and conflict about those divisions in 219 newly married heterosexual couples without children enrolled in the Louisiana Marriage Matters Panel Survey of Newlyweds. We used autoregressive latent trajectory models across three time points spanning approximately 3.5 years. More conflict about labor inequity was related to declines in household labor inequity by the next wave. Additionally, greater household labor inequity was related to declines in conflict by the next wave. We discuss findings in terms of the demand-response hypothesis and ideological reasons why higher labor inequities may relate to less conflict.

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Gender Equality in the Family and Childbearing

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x15590686 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 38 (13) ◽

pp. 1803-1824 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Lars Dommermuth ◽

Bryndl Hohmann-Marriott ◽

Trude Lappegård

Keyword(s):

Child Care ◽

Gender Equality ◽

Household Labor ◽

Data Set ◽

Second Child ◽

Unique Data ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

The Family ◽

Division Of Housework ◽

And Gender

Gender equality and equity in the division of household labor may be associated with couples’ transitions to first, second, and third births. Our comprehensive analysis includes the division of housework and child care as well as the perception of whether this division is fair and satisfactory. We use a unique data set combining the Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey (2007) with information on childbirths within 3 years after the interview from the population register. We found that an unequal division of housework is associated with a decreased chance of first and subsequent births. Child care is most relevant when the respondent is satisfied with the division, as one-child couples where the respondent is less satisfied with the division of child care are less likely to have a second child. Our findings suggest that, even in a high-equity context such as Norway, equality and equity in the household are also important for childbearing.

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STEREOTYPES AND REALITY IN THE DIVISION OF HOUSEHOLD LABOR

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.1992.20.4.283 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 283-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. B. Beckwith

Keyword(s):

Division Of Labor ◽

Time Use ◽

Household Labor ◽

Independent Study ◽

Data Sets ◽

Diary Data ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Unpaid Labor ◽

Paid Labor ◽

Mixed Gender

The division of labor in mixed-gender households is discussed on the basis of stereotypical expectations, as well as time-use diary data. The stereotypes as generated by 210 adults, of average age 25 years, were consistent with reality, as depicted by the diary data from an independent study. In both data sets, the image of the double shift emerged. Women were seen as doing most of the unpaid work, and tasks were gender-segregated. Expectations of women, reinforced by values and power differences, appear unchanged by women's increasing participation in paid labor. Social policies which address women's experience of paid labor therefore need to address the division of unpaid labor. Equalising unpaid labor means mobilising men to become involved in essential, but unrewarded, tasks.

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Is Justice Contextual? Married Women’s Perceptions of Fairness of the Division of Household Labor in 12 Nations

Journal of Comparative Family Studies ◽

10.3138/jcfs.41.1.19 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 19-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Shannon N. Davis

Keyword(s):

Household Labor ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Perceptions Of Fairness ◽

Women’S Perceptions

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Gender and the Division of Household Labor in Older Couples

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x06296427 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 399-421 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Karsten Hank ◽

Hendrik Jürges

Keyword(s):

Household Labor ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Older Couples ◽

Explanatory Variables ◽

Division Of Household Labor ◽

Specific Effects ◽

Division Of Housework ◽

Equal Sharing ◽

National Perspective ◽

Country Specific

Using microdata from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), this study takes a cross-national perspective to investigate the division of household labor among older couples (aged 50 years or more). Across nine continental European countries, the authors find considerable variation in the overall distribution of housework between partners, with more egalitarian countries in northern Europe and more traditional countries in southern Europe. A multilevel analysis shows that about half of the between-country variance in the division of housework is due to differences in older couples’ characteristics, but that there are no country-specific effects of the main microlevel explanatory variables. Finally, the authors find a significant effect of macrolevel gender inequalities on couples’ division of housework, suggesting that older couples living in more gender-egalitarian countries are more likely to exhibit an equal sharing of household labor.

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