Policy effects on the division of housework

Abstract

The paper examines the effect of work–family policies on households' division of unpaid work in 25 countries. Considerable variation exists between countries in the amount of time allocated to unpaid work and the extent to which men participate in housework. Our research question is whether and to what extent different institutional arrangements, especially work–family policies, are related to this variation. The study utilizes data from the ISSP Survey on Gender Roles, conducted in 2002, and employs hierarchical linear modeling to determine individual- and country-level factors affecting the division of housework. The findings suggest that gender inequalities in the labor market and the country's gender ideologies set the conditions for negotiation between spouses over housework and affect the level of gender equality in the family.