Change in Men's Housework and Child-Care Time, 1965-1975

Abstract

The object of this study is to examine change in men's housework and child-care time between 1965 and 1975, a period characterized by significant change both in women's domestic work and in their labor-force participation. Multiple classification analysis is employed to examine change in men's mean housework and child-care time, adjusted for several sociodemographic variables that also may have altered during the decade in question. Neither unadjusted nor adjusted means of men's housework or child-care time changed significantly between 1965 and 1975. Further, few systematic changes in the time spent in housework and child care are observed for specific categories of men. The most important factors influencing men's housework time in both years are paid-work time and leisure time. Key variables that emerge in the analysis of child-care time include paid-work time and the number and ages of children. Overall, the findings cast doubt on the supposed convergence of men's and women's roles. Clearly, men did little between 1965 and 1975 to offset the household pressures created by women's increased participation in the labor force. The findings also raise broader questions concerning the implications of the reorganization of domestic production for the structure of the family.