Traditional Division Of Labor Research Articles

The Precarity of Progress: Implications of a Shifting Gendered Division of Labor for Relationships and Well-Being as a Function of Country-Level Gender Equality

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a shift toward a more traditional division of labor–one where women took greater responsibility for household tasks and childcare than men. We tested whether this regressive shift was more acutely perceived and experienced by women in countries with greater gender equality. Cross-cultural longitudinal survey data for women and men (N = 10,238) was collected weekly during the first few months of the pandemic. Multilevel modelling analyses, based on seven waves of data collection, indicated that a regressive shift was broadly perceived but not uniformly felt. Women and men alike perceived a shift toward a more traditional division of household labor during the first few weeks of the pandemic. However, this perception only undermined women’s satisfaction with their personal relationships and subjective mental health if they lived in countries with higher levels of economic gender equality. Among women in countries with lower levels of economic gender equality, the perceived shift predicted higher relationship satisfaction and mental health. There were no such effects among men. Taken together, our results suggest that subjective perceptions of disempowerment, and the gender role norms that underpin them, should be considered when examining the gendered impact of global crisis.

ДІДЖИТАЛІЗАЦІЯ ПРАЦІ ЯК СУЧАСНИЙ ВЕКТОР ЗМІН В СОЦІАЛЬНО-ТРУДОВІЙ СФЕРІ

The processes of digitalization of labour, which are currently taking place under the influence of the development and spread of digital technologies, are causing rapid changes in the social and labor sphere, primarily related to the development of digital skills of personnel and an even greater strengthening of the role of human capital and human creativity. The purpose of the article is to study theoretical approaches to the substantive interpretation of the economic category "digitalization of labour", and also to characterize the processes and changes taking place in the labor sphere in the context of the spread of digital technologies. For this purpose, using general scientific and special methods, a study of the substance of the categories of "digitalization" and "digitalization of labour" was carried out (historical and logical method), to identify the factors that contribute to the spread of digital technologies and cause modern changes in the field of labor, as well as to identify and characterize changes in the social and labor sphere that occur in the context of digitalization (classification and analytical method), to illustrate the studied socio-economic phenomena and processes, graphic analytics were used. It is determined that the spread of digital technologies in the field of labor is facilitated primarily by such factors as: globalization processes; technological development, increase in the level of robotization and automation of production processes; higher level of mobility of modern personnel, change in their expectations regarding the content of labour and its organization; development of creative industries. Characterizing the processes in the social and labor sphere that are taking place in the context of digitalization, it is possible to identify, first of all, changes in the traditional division of labour, methods and forms of employment, increased mobility of people of working age, strengthening the role of human capital, and its understanding as a determining factor of production.

Gender equality in Latin America

The article concerns measuring gender equality in Latin American countries based on statistics from international (WEF, OECD, ILO, UNESCO) and regional (UNECLAC) organizations and national statistical services, as well as various gender inequality indices (GGI, SIGI). Gender equality is seen as one of the goals of sustainable development, and gender inequality – as a brake on its path. The study is conducted within institutional approach, since institutions are formal and informal restrictions accepted in society and determine the scale and factors of gender inequality. Particular attention is paid to axial institutions that play a primary role in creation, formation and implementation of human capital, namely the institutions of the family and the labor market, education and science, state and corporate governance. The study shows that, among emerging economies, Latin America has very high levels of gender equality as a result of a high degree of feminization of labor markets among other factors. However, the predominance of traditional division of labor in institution of the family levels out the bonuses from participation of women in paid work and exacerbates the problem of a double burden: women are caught in a vise, where, on the one hand, there is a paid work, and, on the other, an unpaid domestic work, which falls mainly on women. The most significant factor that positively affects the increase in gender equality is the share of women in government, while the level of socio-economic development of the country without a specialized policy aimed at stimulating gender equality does not lead to an increase in the latter.

La división intrafamiliar del trabajo en el marco de los procesos migratorios: entre ires y venires

This article analyzes some implications of migratory processes in the family world. Specifically, it investigates the division of reproductive labor into families where at least one of the parents returned to Colombia from Spain. The biographical method is used to examine the family organizational system before emigration and after the return. The results show changes, permanence, and resistance to the traditional division of labor, even though staying in Spain seems to have introduced some balance, after returning, the findings point to the provisional nature of some of these arrangements. The consolidation of female co-suppliers is evident, while men do not end up assuming their role in domestic chores. It is concluded that slowly and without contradictions, progress is being made in the transition process towards more democratic relations, where factors beyond migration combine withit to encourage the emerging processes of change.

Couples’ Communication Behaviour and the Gender Division of Family Work Across the Transition to Parenthood

This study investigates the conceptual argument that constructive and explicit couple communication may reduce gender inequalities in couples’ division of family work. We focus on the transition to parenthood which for most couples in Germany results in a shift towards a more traditional division of labour. Using 314 first-time parents from the German Family Panel, we apply growth curve models to assess whether partners’ prenatal characteristics explain the division of housework and childcare around the time of childbirth and in the following years. After controlling for gender ideologies and economic resources, male partners’ frequency of positive communication is associated with greater father involvement in housework and childcare from the start. However, neither men’s nor women’s communication behaviours dampen the shift towards a more traditional division of housework and childcare in the first years after childbirth. The frequency of negative communication does not correlate with the division of family work.

Is it “Good” to Have a Stay-at-Home Mom? Parental Childcare Time and Work–Family Arrangements in Italy, 1988–2014

Abstract This article investigates whether there are childcare penalties and premiums at the intersection of gender, work–family arrangements, and education among parents in Italy, a country with a familistic welfare state and a traditional division of labor within couples. The results indicate that children in male breadwinner households are not exposed to more childcare time than those living in a dual-earner arrangement, except when both parents are highly educated, in which case a childcare premium emerges. The implications for social inequalities are discussed in light of the societal transformations that have occurred in the country over the past few decades.

Mothers Left without a Man: Poverty and Single Parenthood in China

Most single-parent families in China are headed by women, and single mothers represent one of the fastest-growing groups living in poverty. Yet few studies have examined this group. This article seeks to better understand how (and why) single mothers are disadvantaged in China. Based on in-depth interviews conducted in Zhuhai, Guangzhou Province, it demonstrates that single mothers are left behind in four respects: lower income and worse economic conditions, lower employment and career development opportunities, worse physical and mental health, and poorer interpersonal relationships and less chance of remarriage. The causes of these disadvantages include Chinese family beliefs, a culture of maternal sacrifice, the traditional division of labour between men and women and social stereotypes about single mothers. The article highlights the impacts of Chinese familism culture on single mothers and advocates incorporating a gender perspective into the agenda of family policy and other relevant social policies in China.

Driving a career in Tehran: Experiences of female internet taxi drivers

This qualitative study explores the career experiences of 34 female internet taxi drivers (FTDs) in Tehran, the capital city of Iran, and responds to the call for international and contextual perspectives on careers. We adopt the intelligent career framework and the institutional logics perspective to understand the FTDs' career given their institutional context. First, we shed light on why (i.e., financial needs, flexibility, passion for driving, and social relationships), how (i.e., preferring female passengers, driving skills, navigation skills, becoming less feminine, accessing a car, and self-protection), and with whom (i.e., internet-based taxi company, passengers, family, and citizens) our participants work. Then, we illustrate that normative (e.g., traditional division of labor) and structural (e.g., economic hardship) forces constrain and drive why, how, and with whom the FTDs navigate their career. Our findings unpack an understudied career in an unconventional context and extend the boundaryless career perspective to examine nonprofessional independent contract workers.

Considering a duty to delegate in designing regulatory legislation

ABSTRACTDelegation of rulemaking powers from the legislative branch to regulatory agencies within the executive branch is often explained and legitimised as a means for dealing with complex technical issues, overcoming information asymmetries, or making credible commitments. By focusing on media and communications regulation as a test case for delegating policy-making powers from the legislator to a non-majoritarian body, this Article suggests that such delegation should be understood not only as a permissible act but also as a democratic necessity. What we observe and problematise in this Article is the emerging populist alternative to the traditional division of labour between primary and secondary legislation. We call this model ‘Hollow Delegation,’ in which primary legislation does not limit itself to prescribing the regulatory aims or policy outlines but also stipulates the specifics and details of regulatory duties in a continuous manner, which leaves the delegated regulator with little or no room to exercise its delegated powers. After identifying the practical and democratic problems of this model, the Article suggests analytical tools and guidelines for designing the regulatory division of labour between the parliamentary–representative and the administrative–delegative facets of the democratic regulatory state.

A new family equilibrium? Changing dynamics between the gender division of labor and fertility in Great Britain, 1991–2017

Background: There has recently been a heated debate about the relationship between gender equality and fertility. The macro-level relationship between female labor force participation and fertility has changed from negative to positive. At the micro level, a traditional gender role setting between spouses is still largely considered to be conducive to fertility. Objective: How has the relationship between the couple-level gender division of labor and fertility changed over the last 26 years in Great Britain? Methods: Data is from the harmonized Understanding Society and the British Household Panel Study. We first identify different levels of traditionalism in the division of labor by using latent class analysis. We then employ couple-level fixed-effect logistic regressions to analyze the reciprocal relationship between the gender division of labor and fertility. Results: From 1991 to 2017, the positive, reciprocal association between the traditional division of labor and fertility has been significantly weakening over time. Couples are less likely to adopt the male-breadwinner model when they have more children, and couples who adopt the male-breadwinner model are no longer more likely to have a new child from 2009 onward. Contribution: We take both spouses’ market work and domestic work and their combinations into account to measure the gender division of labor. This measurement and the use of fixed-effect regressions enable a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the micro-level relationship between the division of labor and fertility. The time-varying association between the gendered division of labor and fertility provides important evidence of a changing family equilibrium in Britain. Egalitarian gender roles within a family are no longer a barrier to fertility.

Rendimento Básico Incondicional, Segurança Económica e Igualdade de Género, no Quadro do Capitalismo Pós-industrial

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is not a consensual issue among feminist thinkers. Some authors defend its potential for correcting the bias of social security systems in favor of employment and in detriment of unpaid work, as well as its contribution to the empowerment and economic decision-making power of women within the family. Yet other authors argue that UBI will not contribute to changing the traditional division of labor between men and women, and that it could even strengthen it. This paper argues that, by ensuring the economic security of all human beings, UBI is a required pillar for the effective realization of other human rights, namely gender equality. The discussion is made within the framework of Nancy Fraser’s model of “the universal caretaker” (1994) and the feminist critique of dominant theories of justice and citizenship by Almaz Zelleke (2011). It is argued that, by ensuring minimum economic security for all, the UBI enhances the economic autonomy and the social status of the most disadvantaged women, thus constituting a valuable tool in overcoming the intersectional disadvantages between gender, class and race, among others.

Associations of gender role attitudes with fertility intentions: A Japanese population-based study on single men and women of reproductive ages

ObjectivesJapan has been experiencing low fertility for many years. In this study, I investigated the relationship between gender role attitudes and fertility intentions among Japanese single men and women of reproductive ages. Study designUtilizing the Longitudinal Survey of Adults in the 21st Century data, 8944 men and 7924 women aged 20–34 years with single, childless status were analyzed. Gender role attitudes were assessed by participants’ preferences for the division of labor between a man and a woman: income earning, housework, and childcare. Those who preferred men to earn income and women to perform housework and childcare were considered to have traditional attitudes, whereas those who preferred women and men to share these responsibilities were considered to have egalitarian attitudes. Main outcome measures:Outcomes were fertility intentions measured by a desire to have children and ideal number of children. Logistic regression analyses were conducted. ResultsEgalitarian attitudes about income earning and housework were associated with low fertility intentions (a lesser desire for children) compared to traditional attitudes: adjusted odds ratios were 1.56 [1.36, 1.80] for men and 1.47 [1.26, 1.72] for women with income earning. Men’s preference for sharing childcare responsibility was associated with high fertility intentions. ConclusionsJapanese society has not shifted away from the traditional division of labor despite the increase in female labor force participation. Low fertility intentions among Japanese men and women with egalitarian attitudes suggest that institutional support for balancing work and family may be necessary to improve the low fertility trend.

Motherhood, Employment, and the Dynamics of Women’s Gender Attitudes

This article presents an investigation of the dynamics of women’s gender attitudes from the perspective of women’s conflicting employment and child-rearing responsibilities. It examines the independent and joint effects of motherhood and employment on gender attitudes using combined data from the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society panel study. The results of fixed effects models show no evidence supporting a direct influence of either motherhood or employment on women’s attitudes toward a traditional division of labor. However, changes in attitudes are observed when motherhood and employment statuses are considered jointly. Specifically, women are less traditional after the transition to motherhood than before only if motherhood is combined with full-time employment. By contrast, women are more traditional after the transition to motherhood than before only if motherhood coincides with their withdrawal from the labor force. These associations remain robust after considering feedback from earlier attitudes. All the findings suggest that the emergence and realization of incompatibility between women’s employment and child-rearing responsibilities reshape women’s gender attitudes during the transition to motherhood.

Instituciones públicas y relaciones de género en el manejo forestal sustentable, Cintalapa, Chiapas

En esta investigación se analizan las relaciones de género en dos comunidades rurales del municipio de Cintalapa, Chiapas, al interior de la Reserva de la Biosfera La Sepultura y la influencia de las instituciones públicas relacionadas con el manejo forestal sustentable. El manejo forestal se basa en aspectos tecno- científicos que priorizan recursos de valor en el mercado a costa de la biodiversidad y de los recursos relevantes para las mujeres; constituye una estrategia de manejo reduccionista que percibe el bosque de manera parcial. El sistema de gestión ambiental público, por un lado, faculta a las instituciones públicas ambientales para administrar y regular los recursos forestales considerados técnicamente aptas para el aprovechamiento; por otro, promueve la conservación de la biodiversidad mediante las áreas naturales protegidas, por lo que debería atender la transversalidad de la perspectiva de género en todos los programas. La obtención de datos en la investigación de campo realizada en 2014 fue mediante: ocho entrevistas semiestructuradas a actores clave, dos entrevistas grupales diferenciadas por sexo, cuatro talleres participativos diferenciados y se aplicó una encuesta a 33 mujeres y 28 hombres. Se encontró que las instituciones públicas acentúan las brechas de género a través de los programas públicos dirigidos a mujeres sin perspectiva de género, por el desconocimiento del tema; de manera que se refuerza la división tradicional del trabajo basado únicamente en la diferencia por sexo.

Social Inequalities in Europe The Challenge of Convergence and Cohesion

Social Inequalities in Europe The Challenge of Convergence and Cohesion

A role (in)congruity study on Vietnamese journalists’ perception of female and male leadership

ABSTRACTThis survey study examines the applicability of role congruity theory on journalists in Vietnam. Findings show that journalists hold stereotypical perceptions of female leaders. Journalists see female leaders as more communal while male leaders as more agentic. Journalists believe it is more important to report information on female leaders’ domesticity and physicality than it is on male leaders. In addition, journalists from families with a traditional division of labor tend to hold stronger gender stereotypes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The gender division of labor and second births: Labor market institutions and fertility in Japan

1. IntroductionVery low fertility rates in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and East Asia have been a source of great interest for demographers in recent years (Kohler, Billari, and Ortega 2002; Lesthaeghe 2010). Among the theories proposed to explain the emergence of what is termed 'lowest-low' fertility (total fertility rates of 1.3 or lower), theories emphasizing the unevenness of gender-role change have increasingly occupied center stage. Central among these is McDonald's gender equity framework, with its focus on the slow pace of change in men's and women's household roles compared to their increasingly equal participation in the public sphere, especially the labor market (McDonald 2000). Recent work has suggested that increases in gender equality are likely to help societies currently experiencing low fertility to move towards an equilibrium characterized by near-replacement fertility rates (Esping-Andersen and Billari 2015; Goldscheider, Bernhardt, and Lappegard 2015).This paper seeks to make both a theoretical and an empirical contribution to the analysis of how gender equality is related to fertility. First, we bring the role of labor market institutions into the analysis, theorizing the importance of considering how employment norms and work culture affect men's ability to participate in housework. In doing so we establish the connection not only between women's roles in the public and private spheres but also between men's roles in these two spheres. Second, we bring East Asia more fully into the literature on low fertility, which has been dominated by research on Europe. We utilize individual-level panel data from Japan, one of the countries that has had persistently low fertility over the past two decades, despite government policy efforts to raise the birth rate. We employ an analysis strategy that models husband's contribution to household labor in the context of Japanese labor market institutions and then models the effect of husband's household work on the transition to second birth. In demonstrating how gender-role specialization in Japanese marriages is connected to the broader labor market context, we argue that Japanese labor market structure and workplace norms have a negative impact on Japan's fertility rate.2. The household division of labor and fertility2.1 Empirical studiesFollowing McDonald's gender equity perspective and the expectation that a highly gendered household division of labor in postindustrial societies is likely to depress fertility, in recent years a number of empirical studies have endeavored to test this relationship. At the macro level, Feyrer, Sacerdote, and Stern (2008) find a positive relationship in OECD countries between the average household work share of husbands and the average number of births.3 A number of studies using micro-level data find that increased involvement of fathers in childcare and housework increases the likelihood of a second birth. For instance, Olah (2003) compares Sweden, which has had a longstanding dual-earner/dual-carer family model, with Hungary, a country that has emphasized paid work for men and women but a more traditional division of labor at home. She finds that fathers' involvement in household work increases the probability of second birth in both countries.4 Using US data, Torr and Short (2004) find a Ushaped relationship between couples' distribution of household labor and the transition to second birth, with a higher probability of second birth for couples where the wife does most of the housework (the 'traditional' model) as well as for couples where housework is shared relatively equally between spouses.Studies using micro-level data from countries with a more traditional malebreadwinner model have produced somewhat mixed results. In her comparative study of Italy and Spain, Cooke (2009) finds that fathers' share of childcare has no effect on the probability of a second birth in Spain. In Italy, fathers' childcare time has a positive effect but the strength of the effect varies by mothers' employment status. …

Behaviour-based Work-Family Conflict among Hungarian Manager Fathers

The paper focuses on a special type of conflict that emerges from the contradictory demands of work and family life, assuming that the gap between the ideal manager and the involved father might serve as significant conflict source in men’s life. In order to test the assumption an interview-based case study was made at the Hungarian subsidiary of a Scandinavian multinational service sector company, where 43 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with manager fathers. The interviews were analysed with the use of NVivo10 on the principle of qualitative content analysis. According to the findings behaviour-based work-family conflict is not the major source of conflict between work and family responsibilities, rather the contrary, managerial and father roles often enhance each other. In those cases when manager fathers have experienced conflict it appeared in two forms: as a double pressure that fathers are expected to be both traditional breadwinners and available involved fathers and as the difficulty to switch from managerial role into father role. The low level of behaviour-based conflict can be explained by the traditional division of labour and gender attitude in Hungary that conforms to the workplace’s expectations about ideal employees.

Sons, Daughters, and the Parental Division of Paid Work and Housework

Children play an important role in shaping the division of labor within couples. This study examines whether the impact of parenthood on the household division of paid work and housework is moderated by child gender, and thereby extends previous work on the effect of child gender on family life. The empirical analysis used fixed effects models and data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985-2011, N = 7,572). It showed that both fathers and mothers of boys spend more hours on paid work than parents of girls. This child-gender effect is, however, much stronger for women than for men. There is also suggestive evidence that mothers and fathers of a same-sex child spend more time on housework than mothers and fathers of an opposite-sex child. Overall, the analysis indicates that having a daughter is associated with a more traditional division of labor than having a son.

Women's Agency in Living Apart Together: Constraint, Strategy and Vulnerability

Recent research suggests that women can use living apart together (LAT) for a reflexive and strategic undoing of the gendered norms of cohabitation. In this article we examine this assertion empirically, using a representative survey from Britain in 2011 and follow-up interviews. First, we find little gender differentiation in practices, expectations, or attitudes about LAT, or reasons for LAT. This does not fit in with ideas of undoing gender. Secondly, in examining how women talk about LAT in relation to gender, we distinguish three groups of ‘constrained’, ‘strategic’ and ‘vulnerable’ female interviewees. All valued the extra space and time that LAT could bring, many welcomed some release from traditional divisions of labour, and some were glad to escape unpleasant situations created by partnership with men. However, for the constrained and vulnerable groups LAT was second best, and any relaxation of gendered norms was seen as incidental and inconsequential to their major aim, or ideal, of the ‘proper family’ with cohabitation and marriage. Rather, their agency in achieving this was limited by more powerful agents, or was a reaction to perceived vulnerability. While the strategic group showed more purposeful behaviour in avoiding male authority, agency remained relational and bonded. Overall we find that women, at least in Britain, seldom use LAT to purposefully or reflexively undo gender. Equally, LAT sometimes involves a reaffirmation of gendered norms. LAT is a multi-faceted adaption to circumstances where new autonomies can at the same time incorporate old subordinations, and new arrangements can herald conventional family forms.