Cross‐national variations in the division of household labor

TLDR

The study proposes that future cross‑national research should contextualize individuals to explain national differences in household labor division. The authors analyze data from the International Social Justice Project on 10,153 married couples across 13 countries to describe household labor division. The analysis reveals significant national differences in household labor division, supports the time‑availability and relative‑resources approaches—showing that employed wives and wives with equal or higher education are associated with husbands performing more labor—and finds little evidence for the economic‑dependence approach.

Abstract

Using data from the International Social Justice Project, we describe the division of household labor in married couple households using a sample of 13 nations ( N = 10,153). We find significant differences in the division of household labor based upon respondents’ nations of residence. We find support for the time availability approach; households where the wife is employed outside the home for pay are more likely to respond that husbands perform at least half of the household labor. We also find support for the relative resources approach; in households where wives’ education equals or exceeds that of their husbands, husbands are more likely to perform half of the household labor. We find little support for the economic dependence approach. We suggest that future cross‐national research should place individuals in context to determine why there are nation differences in the reported division of household labor.