Gender inequality in housework: persistence and change by partnership and parenthood status in the early 2000s
Gender inequality in housework: persistence and change by partnership and parenthood status in the early 2000s
Heterosexual unions and parenthood are key contributors to gender inequality in housework. Over the last two decades, the social meaning of partnership and parenthood has changed. This study investigated whether this change in the narrative of partnership and parenthood status influenced changes in the housework gender gap. Using the American Time Use Survey 2003–2005 and 2013–2015, the findings show that housework gender gap was larger for people in a couple relationship than for singles. For nonparents, the gender gap in housework was no difference between those married and those cohabiting. Gender inequality in housework persisted among married parents but decreased among cohabiting parents, mainly because of the increase in cohabiting fathers’ housework time. These findings suggest a heterosexual union, particularly marriage, reproduces conventional gender roles. Men’s gendered behaviors were not uniform but diverse across partnership and parenthood status.
cohabitation, gender inequality, housework, marriage, parenthood
Chao, Shih-yi
66a5d917-544a-46ea-85d7-7a2d303d4469
9 August 2021
Chao, Shih-yi
66a5d917-544a-46ea-85d7-7a2d303d4469
Chao, Shih-yi
(2021)
Gender inequality in housework: persistence and change by partnership and parenthood status in the early 2000s.
Journal of Family Issues.
(doi:10.1177/0192513X211031757).
Abstract
Heterosexual unions and parenthood are key contributors to gender inequality in housework. Over the last two decades, the social meaning of partnership and parenthood has changed. This study investigated whether this change in the narrative of partnership and parenthood status influenced changes in the housework gender gap. Using the American Time Use Survey 2003–2005 and 2013–2015, the findings show that housework gender gap was larger for people in a couple relationship than for singles. For nonparents, the gender gap in housework was no difference between those married and those cohabiting. Gender inequality in housework persisted among married parents but decreased among cohabiting parents, mainly because of the increase in cohabiting fathers’ housework time. These findings suggest a heterosexual union, particularly marriage, reproduces conventional gender roles. Men’s gendered behaviors were not uniform but diverse across partnership and parenthood status.
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Accepted/In Press date: 9 August 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 August 2021
Published date: 9 August 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
I gratefully thank R. Kelly Raley for her support and comments. This research was supported by grant P2CHD042849, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the author.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
Keywords:
cohabitation, gender inequality, housework, marriage, parenthood
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Local EPrints ID: 451094
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/451094
ISSN: 0192-513X
PURE UUID: 48cef837-f779-4f81-ae3f-41bdab25d0b5
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Date deposited: 07 Sep 2021 16:33
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 13:55
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Author:
Shih-yi Chao
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