The gendered division of housework

Psicothema. 2016 May;28(2):130-6. doi: 10.7334/psicothema2015.169.

Abstract

Background: In spite of the verifiable achievements obtained in gender equity, one wonders if they still exist in our societies gendered activities (roles) at the household level. This study states an affirmative prediction. Gender role is here organized in four different nuclei: instrumentality inside and outside home for men; expressiveness and instrumentality inside home for women, pertaining to two clearly different domains (household activities for men and household activities for women).

Method: 98 women and 86 men completed the Gender Roles Questionnaire (GRQ).

Results: Obtained results showed that: (a) men and women do not do certain household activities (roles) with the same frequency; (b) the four-dimensional approach fits the data better than the one-dimensional and even better than the two-dimensional approach (household gender roles for men and women separately).

Conclusion: Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for both research and education.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Gender Identity*
  • Household Work / organization & administration*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Self Report