Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Division of Household Labor in Spanish Dual Earner Couples: Testing Three Theories

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although the participation of men in household activities has increased, this has not prompted an equitable division of household activities among men and women, since Spanish women continue to perform a greater share of these activities than Spanish men. This article explores the explanatory potential of three theoretical approaches (traditional gender division, role-strain and the resource-bargaining approach) to account for the emergence of different patterns in the division of unpaid work among Spanish dual earner couples. Using a representative sample of 2,877 Spanish workers and through logit ordered models, our study reveals that the three models contribute to the explanation of the different patterns of household labor and, therefore, may be regarded as complementary.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alberdi, I. (2003). El trabajo remunerado de las mujeres y su impacto en la vida familiar (Women paid work and its impact on familiar life). Arbor CLXXVI, 694, 195–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Álvarez, B., & Miles, D. (2003). Gender effect on housework allocation: Evidence from Spanish two-earner couples. Journal of Population Economics, 16, 227–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Álvarez, B., & Miles, D. (2006). Husbands’s housework time: Does wives paid employment make a difference? Investigaciones Económicas, 30, 5–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacharach, S., Bamberger, P., & Conley, S. (1991). Work-home conflict among nurses and engineers: Mediating the impact of role stress on burnout and satisfaction at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12, 39–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balcells i Ventura, A. (2009). Analyzing the division of household labor within spanish families. Revista Internacional de Sociología, 67, 83–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1965). A theory of the allocation of time. Economic Journal, 75, 493–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1981). A teatrise on the family. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in the gender division of household labor. Social Forces, 1, 191–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biernat, M., & Wortman, C. B. (1991). Sharing of Home responsibilities between professionally employed women and their husbands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 844–860.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blood, R., & Wolfe, D. M. (1960). Husbands and wives. New York: Free.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boje, T. P. (2007). Welfare and work. The gendered organisation of work and care in different European Countries. European Review, 15, 373–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brines, J. (1994). Economic dependency, gender and the division of labor at home. American Journal of Sociology, 100, 652–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claffey, S. T., & Mickelson, K. D. (2009). Division of household labor and distress: The role of perceived fairness for working mothers. Sex Roles, 60, 819–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coltrane, S. (2000). Research on household labor: Modelling and measuring the social embeddedness of routine family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1208–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Condran, J., & Bode, J. (1982). Rashomon, working wives and family division of labor: Middletown, 1980. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44, 421–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crompton, R., Brockmann, M., & Lyonette, C. (2005). Attitudes, women’s employment and the domestic division of labour: A cross-national analysis in two waves. Work, Employment & Society, 19, 213–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Luis-Carnicer, M. P., Martinez-Sancher, A., Pére-Pérez, M., & Vaela-Jiménez, M. J. (2002). La flexibilidad de la empresa y la conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar (Firm flexibility and work life balance). Boletín Económico de ICE, 2741, 37–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dema-Moreno, S. (2009). Behind the negotiations: Financial decision-making processes in Spanish dual-income couples. Feminist Economics, 15, 27–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durán, M. A. (2003). El trabajo no remunerado en la familia (Unpaid work in the family). Arbor CLXXVI, 694, 239–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Euronline, European Industrial Relations Observatory On-line (2009). Women’s wages still lower than men’s. Denmark. Retrieved from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2003/09/feature/dk0309103f.htm

  • European Commission (1998). Equal opportunities for women and men in Europe? Eurobarometer 44.3, Results of an opinion survey. Luxembourg: Office of Official Publications. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_097_en.pdf

  • European Working Conditions Observatory (2007). Fewer women than men hold senior positions in the workplace. Luxembourg. Retrieved from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/2007/02/LU0702019I.htm

  • Evertsson, M., & Nermo, M. (2007). Changing resources and the division of housework: A longitudinal study of Swedish couples. European Sociological Review, 23, 455–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferber, M. (1982). Low-market participation of young married women: Cause and effects. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44, 457–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferber, M. A., & Birnbaum, B. G. (1977). The “new home economics”: Retrospects and prospects. Journal of Consumer Research, 4, 19–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fried, M. (1998). Taking time: Parental leave policy and corporate culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 6578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geerken, M., & Grove, W. (1983). At home and at work: The family’s allocation of labor. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gershuny, J., Godwin, M., & Jones, S. (1994). The domestic labour revolution: A process of lagged adaptation. In M. Anderson, F. Bechhofer, & J. Gershuny (Eds.), The social and political economy of the household (pp. 151–197). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H. (1988). The intersection of work and family roles: Individual, interpersonal and organizational issues. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 3, 23–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenstein, T. N. (2000). Economic dependence, gender and the division of labor in the home: A replication and extension. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 322–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, S. (2007). Autonomy, Dependence, or Display? The relationship between married women’s earnings and housework. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 399–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gwartney, J., & Stroup, R. (1973). Measurement of employment discrimination according to sex. Southern Economic Journal, 39, 575–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hank, K., & Jürges, H. (2007). Gender and the division of household labor in older couples. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 399–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hersch, J., & Stratton, L. S. (1994). Housework, wages and the division of housework time for employed spouses. American Economic Review, 84, 120–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, C. A., Duxbury, L. E., & Irving, R. H. (1992). Work and family conflicts in the dual-career family. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 51, 51–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiller, D. V. (1984). Power dependency and the division of family work. Sex Roles, 10, 1003–1019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild, A. R. (1997). The time bind: When work becomes home and home becomes work. New York: Metropolitan.

    Google Scholar 

  • INE (2004). Encuesta de Empleo del Tiempo 2002–2003 [Use Time Survey 2002–2003]. Retrieved from http://www.ine.es/proyectos/eet0203/proy_eet0203.pdf

  • Judge, G. G., Carter, R., Giffiths, W. E., Lütkepohl, H., & Lee, T. C. (1988). Introduction to the theory and practice of econometrics (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kavanagh, M. J., & Halpern, M. (1977). The impact of job level and sex differences on the raltionship between life and job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 20, 66–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kluwer, E. S., Heesink, J. A. M., & Van de Vliert, E. (1997). The marital dynamics of conflict over the division of labor. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 635–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, K., & Waerness, K. (2009). Shared or separate? Money management and changing norms of gender equality among Norwegian couples. Community, Work and Family, 12, 39–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewin-Epstein, N., Stier, H., & Braun, M. (2006). The division of household labor in Germany and Israel. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 1147–1164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, M., Phipps, S., & Lethbridge, L. (2005). Taking its toll: The influence of paid and un unpaid work on women’s well-being. Feminist Economics, 11, 63–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mannino, C. A., & Deutsch, F. M. (2007). Changing the division of household labor: A negotiated process between partners. Sex Roles, 56, 309–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministerio de Trabajo e Inmigración. (2009). Mujer y mercado de trabajo 2008 (Women and work market 28). Subdirección General de Estrategias de Empleo, Secretaría General de Empleo. Retrieved from: http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/icigualdad/docs_2010/informe_mujer_y_mercado_de_trabajo2009.pdf

  • Newcomb, T. M. (1943). Personality and social change. New York: Dryden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nomaguchi, K. M. (2009). Change in work-family conflict among employed parents between 1977 and 1997. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 15–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nuño-Gómez, L. (2008). La incorporación de las mujeres al espacio público y la ruptura parcial de la división sexual del trabajo: el tratamiento de la conciliación de la vida familiar y laboral y sus consecuencias en la igualdad de género [Women incorporation to the public space and partial rupture of the work gender division: Treatment of the work-life balance and consequences in gender equality]. (Doctoral thesis). Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología. Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

  • Oaxaca, R. (1973). Male-female wage differentials in urban labor markets. International Economic Review, October, 693–709.

  • Oppenheimer, V. K. (1997). Women’s employment and the gain to marriage: The specialization and Trading model. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 431–453.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Papí, N. (2005). La conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar como proyecto de calidad de vida desde la igualdad (Work-life balance like a project of life quality from equality). RES, 5, 91–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkman, A. M. (2004). Bargaining over housework. The frustrating situation of secondary wage earners. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 63, 765–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T., & Bals, R. F. (1955). Family, socialization and interaction process. Glencoe, III: Free press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinto, K. M., & Coltrane, S. (2009). Division of labor in Mexican origin and Anglo families: Structure and culture. Sex Roles, 60, 482–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J. H., Staines, G. L., & Lang, L. (1980). Conflicts between work and family life. Monthly Labor Review, 103, 29–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Presser, H. B. (1994). Employment schedules among dual-earner spouses and the division of household labor by gender. American Sociologial Review, 59, 348–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, C. E. (1987). The division of labor at home. Social Forces, 65, 816–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez, L., & Hall, C. S. (1999). Traditional values and democratic impulses: The gender division of labor in contemporary Spain. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 30, 659–685.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sevilla-Sanz, A. (2010). Household division of labor and cross-country differences in household formation rates. Journal of Population Economics, 23, 225–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shelton, B. A., & John, D. (1996). The division of household labor. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 299–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silván-Ferrero, M. P., & Bustillos López, A. (2007). Benevolent sexism toward men and women: Justification of the traditional system and conventional gender roles in Spain. Sex Roles, 57, 607–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, A., & McLanahan, S. (1987). Married women’s economic dependency, 1940–1980. American Journal of Sociology, 93, 659–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stier, H., & Lewin-Epstein, N. (2007). Policy effects on the division of housework. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 9, 235–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voicu, M., Voicu, B., & Strapcova, K. (2009). Housework and gender inequality in European Countries. European Sociological Review, 25, 365–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M., Hill, S., Mcgovern, P., Mills, C., & Smeaton, D. (2003). High-performance management practices, working hours and work life balance. British Journal of Industrial Relation, 41, 175–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiesman, S., Boeije, H., Van Doorne-Huiskes, A., & Den Dulk, L. (2008). Not worth mentioning: The implicit and explicit nature of decision-making about the division of paid and domestic work. Community, Work & Family, 11, 341–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and SEC2007-67737-C03-02/ECON awarded to Salomé Goñi Legaz and SEJ2007-66511/ECON awarded to Alberto Bayo Moriones, and a post-scholarship from the Government of Navarre awarded to Andrea Ollo López. The authors acknowledge the helpful comments of the editor-in-chief of Sex Roles, Irene H. Frieze, and of the two anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus Arrosadía, s/n, 31007, Pamplona, Spain

    Salomé Goñi-Legaz, Andrea Ollo-López & Alberto Bayo-Moriones

Authors
  1. Salomé Goñi-Legaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrea Ollo-López
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alberto Bayo-Moriones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Salomé Goñi-Legaz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goñi-Legaz, S., Ollo-López, A. & Bayo-Moriones, A. The Division of Household Labor in Spanish Dual Earner Couples: Testing Three Theories. Sex Roles 63, 515–529 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9840-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9840-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation