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The Gendered Division of Household Labor

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Handbook of the Sociology of Gender

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

In this chapter I first define, and then examine the origins of research into, the gendered division of household labor and care. I outline the main theoretical approaches, finishing with the development of multi-level theoretical frameworks that connect the institutional and interactional levels of the gendered construction of labor and care. I follow the logic of these models to describe current configurations and trends. I focus on the factors identified by successive decade reviews as being the most important influences on the gendered division of household labor and care, and describe spousal resources and educational level as examples of individual-level influences. I then discuss cross-national trends in relation to institutional-level policy contexts, comparing evidence for and against the idea of a recent ‘stall’ in progress towards gender equality. I conclude by arguing that it is important to recognize the processes of progressive change that are at work, in order to continue to press for movement in the direction of greater equality. I outline the most significant barriers that need addressing, emphasizing in particular the persistency of traditional masculinities, and policy directions that fail to address the need for a better work-life balance for both women and men.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While this recent movement in the US in the direction of greater inequality has been referred to as evidence for a stall in gender convergence, we would note that several sources over the past decade have questioned the results of the US time use data from the 1980s and 1990s—see, for example, Allard et al. (2007), Bianchi et al. (2012), Egerton et al. (2005).

  2. 2.

    This interpretation makes the assumption that there is an underlying demand for such involvement, and the fact that by 2014 25% of all parental leave in Sweden was taken by fathers goes some way to support this (Swedish Institute, 2016: https://sweden.se/society/sweden-gender-equality/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Oriel Sullivan

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  1. Oriel Sullivan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Barbara J. Risman

  2. University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

    Carissa M. Froyum

  3. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    William J. Scarborough

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Sullivan, O. (2018). The Gendered Division of Household Labor. In: Risman, B., Froyum, C., Scarborough, W. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Gender. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76333-0_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76333-0_27

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