Women’s pre-marriage income and the division of household labour

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of women’s economic resources on the division of household labour by employing pre-marriage income as a proxy for resources, rather than post-marriage income. Post-marriage income has been substantially used in the literature; however, it would be the consequence rather than the cause of spousal labour division. Since many married women reduce their working hours to focus on household tasks and their income decreases after marriage, the reverse causality could overestimate the economic power effect on housework allocation. Based on pre-marriage income data of South Korean households, the present study shows that women’s high relative income does not significantly decrease their time and share of housework. Furthermore, wives’ economic superiority after marriage over the husbands seems to increase their household labour because the wives intend to restore gender identity. In conclusion, traditional gender norms have a greater influence on the division of housework than economic efficiency. Therefore, policy efforts must encourage couples to share their housework equally, such as gender-neutral education and paternity protection system.