Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Division of Housework in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Family, Work and Wellbeing in Asia

Part of the book series: Quality of Life in Asia ((QLAS,volume 9))

Abstract

Using national samples, this paper examined factors related to the frequency of housework done by husbands and wives in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. The main results were: (1) Japanese husbands did housework far less than South Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese; (2) In China, both frequency and relative share of husbands’ housework were the highest among the four societies; (3) Husbands’ housework frequency was associated with wives’ working hours, own income (except for Japan), own working hours, and the presence of alternative resource (mother), but not with wives’ income; (4) Wives’ housework frequency was strongly linked to own employment conditions (mostly income), health status and family structure, and only weakly related to their gender role attitudes and husbands’ condition except for China where wives did more as their husbands worked longer; and (5) Husbands’ relative share of housework was strongly related to both wives’ and husband’ working hours.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Calculated based on figures from Human Development Report 2009 (United Nations Development Programme 2009).

References

  • Batalova, J., & Cohen, P. (2002). Premarital cohabitation and housework: Couples in cross-national perspective. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 743–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. N., & Greenstein, T. N. (2004). Cross-national variations in the division of household labor. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 1260–1271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuwa, M. (2004). Macro-level gender inequality and the division of household labor in 22 countries. American Sociological Review, 69, 751–767.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenstein, T. N. (2009). National context, family satisfaction, and fairness in the division of household labor. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 1039–1051.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hausmann, R., Tyson, L. D., & Zahidi, S. (2010). The global gender gap report 2010. World Economic Forum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, P. (2008, August). Gender inequality and the division of household labor: Comparisons between China and Taiwan. Paper presented at the meeting of American Sociological Association, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, C., & Kamo, Y. (2007). The division of household labor in Taiwan. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38(1), 105–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwai, N. (2002). Household labor by husband, Single life. In N. Iwai & H. Sato (Eds.), Japanese values and behavioral patterns seen in the Japanese General Social Survey (pp. 25–34; 56–64). Tokyo: Yuhikaku. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwai, N., & Yasuda, T. (Eds.). (2011). Family values in East Asia: A comparison among Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan based on East Asian Social Survey 2006. Kyoto: Nakanishiya Shuppan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, K., & Wærness, K. (2008). National context and spouses’ housework in 34 countries. European Sociological Review, 24, 97–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Z. Z., Maume, D. J., & Bellas, M. L. (2000). Chinese husbands’ participation in household labor. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31, 191–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishioka, H. (1998). Men’s domestic role and the gender system: Determinants of husband’s household labor in Japan. Journal of Population Problems, 54(3), 56–71.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South, S. J., & Spitze, G. (1994). Housework in marital and nonmarital households. American Sociological Review, 59, 327–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szinovacz, M., & Harpster, P. (1994). Couple’s employment/retirement status and the division of household tasks. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 49(3), S125–S136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuya, N. O., Bumpass, L. L., & Choe, M. K. (2000). Gender, employment, and housework in Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Review of Population and Social Policy, 9, 195–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsuya, N. O., Bumpass, L. L., Choe, M. K., & Rindfuss, R. R. (2005). Is the gender division of labor changing in Japan? Asian Population Studies, 1(1), 47–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Development Programme (2009). Human development report 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamada, M. (1999). The age of parasite singles. Tokyo: Chikumashobo. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

East Asian Social Survey (EASS) is based on Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSS), Korean General Social Survey (KGSS), and Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS), and distributed by the EASSDA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. JGSS Research Center, Osaka University of Commerce, Higashi-osaka, Japan

    Noriko Iwai

Authors
  1. Noriko Iwai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noriko Iwai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Ming-Chang Tsai

  2. Department of Sociology, National Taipei University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Wan-chi Chen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Iwai, N. (2017). Division of Housework in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. In: Tsai, MC., Chen, Wc. (eds) Family, Work and Wellbeing in Asia. Quality of Life in Asia, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4313-0_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4313-0_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4312-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4313-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation