The Division of Household Labor

Introduction to Family Studies

April 21, 2023

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Project•REMEMBER the Project is Due Monday, April

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POST HERE•Naming of file is important and include group

member names and MONTCLAIR e-mail addresses!

•APA stands for American Psychological Association

•http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/07/

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Why study the division of household labor?Research on housework has

implications for gender inequality in both the work and family spheres▫Good example of the inter-relationship

between two social institutions, the economy and families

Research on housework also highlights the interplay between the micro and macro levels

Study of housework shows how gender is socially constructed

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Why study the division of household labor?Unequal social change:Major change in one social institution -- the economy -- increase in the

percentage of married women and mothers in the labor force is not met by similar change in

-- families -- in the amount of household labor performed by married men/fathers

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Why study the division of household labor?Unequal social change: In other words – married women and

mothers have taken on more paid work responsibility but still devote more time to unpaid family work

While men have not “taken up the slack” at home in equal amounts of time or responsibility

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Division of Household Labor

•Today we’ll examine the time spent on housework

•By wives and husbands•By teen girls and boys

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Division of Household Labor

•The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports:

•6 in 10 women over age 16 were in the paid labor force

•61 % of mothers with children under age 3 are in the paid labor force

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Labor force participation rates for married women, by age of youngest child

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Ages 6-17

Under Age 6Under age 6

Ages 6 - 17

Has Women’s Labor Force Participation Slowed?

•Recent article in the NY Times states “Stretched to the Limit, Women Stall March to Work”

•Argument is that without more help with housework, working mothers have “hit a wall”

•The increase in women’s labor force participation has helped fuel economic growth

Source: New York Times, 3/2/2006

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Paid Labor Force Participation• So today about 75 percent of women ages 25-54

are in the paid labor force or actively seeking work

• Up from 40 percent in the late 1950s

• This trend flattened in the 1990s

• Since 2000 the labor force participation rate has declined somewhat

• When new data become available it is likely the rate will go up

• Source: New York Times, 3/2/2006

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Unpaid work: The good news•According to a survey by John

Robinson•From 1965 to 1985 the time men

spent on household labor doubled from 4.6 hours per week to 10 hours per week

•Over the same period, women reduced their time spent in housework from 27 hours to 20 hours

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Unpaid work: The bad news•It appears men are doing a larger

proportion of housework and child care, but much of this change was due to women reducing their time on housework

•Numerous studies based on different data sources show wives still perform about 2/3 of housework, even when they work full-time

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Unpaid work: The bad news•Data from the National Survey of

Families and Households (NSFH) collected from 6,882 husbands and wives on hours spent on 9 household chores

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Mean Number of Hours Spent on 9 Household Tasks per Week by Dual-Earner Spouses

0

2

4

6

8

10

Mea

n N

um

ber

Husbands

Wives

14

Source: NSFH, 1993

Unpaid work: The bad news•Wives do a greater number of tasks

than husbands•And they spend more time on

housework•On average, dual-earner wives spent

32 hours each week on 9 household tasks

•Dual-earner husbands spent only 19 hours per week on same tasks

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Unpaid work: The bad news•These same wives spent on average 40

hours per week in paid labor•While, husbands spent 44 hours per

week in paid labor•In sum, wives spent a total of 72

hours per week in paid and unpaid labor, while husbands spent 63 hours in paid and unpaid labor combined

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Combined Hours Spent per Week on Housework and Paid Work by Dual-earner

Married Couples

3219

40

44

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Wives Husbands

Paid Work

Housework

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Unpaid work: The bad news

•In other words, dual-earner wives spent 9 more hours per week working than their husbands

•This adds up to 36 hours per month•Arlie Hochschild calls wives’ extra

work the “Second Shift”

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Unpaid work: The worse news

•Given significant changes in women’s lives: 1) Higher labor force participation rates2) Changing attitudes toward more gender

equality3) Greater educational opportunities for

girls…we might expect less gendered

division of housework among children?

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Weekly hours Spent by Teens on Household Tasks, Grades 9 & 12

17.2

13.1

15

8.9

0

5

10

15

20

9th grade 12th grade

girls boys

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Mean Hours Spent on Selected Activities – Grade 9

6.7

15.7

6.7

0.6

7.56.0

13.1

8.8

3.7

0.6

0

4

8

12

16

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Homework Vol. work Paid Job Extra-curr. Hsewrk

girls boys

21

April 21, 2023

Source: Youth Development Survey

Unpaid work: The worse news•In ninth grade, girls spend more time on

paid work, homework, and housework than boys

•Boys spend more time on extra-curricular activities across high school

•Teen girls are already learning to multi-task by ninth grade

•Girls and boys are growing up to expect a gendered and unfair division of labor

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Unpaid work: The bad news• At the same time, NSFH data also show

that:• 90 percent of wives and 81 percent of husbands

agree that couples who work full-time should share household tasks equally

• 72 percent of dual-earner husbands and 66 percent of dual-earner wives say the division of household labor is fair to both spouses

• What explains these conflicting data?

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Wives' & Husbands' Perceptions of Fairness of the Division of Household

Labor

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Sex and Housework Link• My research shows a link between time

spent on housework and sexual frequency among married couplesCheck out this article on our research in the Wall St. Journal

• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574485351638147312.html

• And Professor Gager on TV! • http://www.nbcnewyork.com/shows/lxnewyor

k/Does_the_Couple_That_Cleans_Together_Stay_Together__All__National_.html

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The Second Shift

•Arlie Hochschild reviews data on the division of household labor

•Shows that women are working a “second shift” of housework, after they work at their paid job

•She also talks about how wives compare themselves to other women – not to their own husbands

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The Second ShiftWhat is the stalled revolution?•Unequal social change•Women have entered the labor force, but

men are not doing equal amounts of work in the home

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The Second Shift•Joey’s Problem: Nancy & Evan Holt•How did you answer the questions for

Assignment 6? •Hochschild describes the family myths used

by couple Nancy and Evan Holt•In other words, she tells the story they

make up about their division of labor but what is the real story according to Hochschild?

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The Second Shift•Joey’s Problem: Nancy & Evan Holt• Assignment 6? •1. According to Hochshcild, what is the

“Second Shift?” •2. Briefly describe the story of Evan and

Nacy Holt. •3. Hochschild argues that families create

“myths” about their division of household labor. Describe the family myth created by Nancy and Evan Holt.

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The Second Shift

•Joey’s Problem: Nancy & Evan Holt• Assignment 6? •4. According to Hochschild, what is the

purpose of family myths? •5. Was this reading surprising to you and

why? How do you imagine you will divide family work (including child care) in your own marriage or cohabitation?

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Families and unpaid work: Where do we go from here?

• Summary• Girls and women perform more

household labor than their male peers• Hochschild calls this the “Second Shift”• If women and girls continue to do more

unpaid labor, will we see real change in gender inequality at the macro and micro levels?

• If we do not close the gender gap at home, can we close the gender gap at work?

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