Sharing the load? Partners’ relative earnings and the division of domestic labour

TLDR

Gender inequality persists partly because women, even when employed, perform more domestic work than men, limiting workplace equality. The study compares working women whose partners earn more, about the same, or less to investigate why domestic work remains gendered. The authors conduct qualitative comparisons of women’s earnings relative to male partners and analyze absolute incomes. Men partnered with higher‑earning women perform more housework, yet women still do more and actively contest gendered expectations, with class differences also affecting domestic work sharing.

Abstract

One of the most pressing issues contributing to the persistence of gender inequality is the gendered division of domestic labour. Despite their entry into paid employment, women still carry out more domestic work than men, limiting their ability to act on an equal footing within the workplace. This qualitative research adds to the ongoing debate concerning the reasons for the persistence of the gendered nature of domestic work, by comparing working women who earn more, those who earn around the same and those who earn less than their male partners, as well as examining women’s absolute incomes. On average, men whose partners earn more than they do carry out more housework than other men, although women in these partnerships still do more. However, these women actively contest their male partner’s lack of input, simultaneously ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ gender. The article also identifies class differences in the ‘sharing’ of domestic work.