By Georgia Fales and Himena Yimane
The division of labor within households has been a longstanding issue influenced by societal norms, disparities in the labor force, and deviance neutralization. Although there has become more progression in the equality of household labor disparities persist and have caused long-lasting effects on women. Effects on women can be seen through the wage gap, retention in the labor force, and traditional gender norms that still exist today.
Many factors influence how the division of labor is distributed. Driving factors such as family composition, income, and participation in the labor force have a substantial effect.
According to Economic dependence, gender, and the division of labor in the home (Theodore N. Greenstein, 2000) in homes that have a male as their source of primary income, there is a higher likelihood that the disparities are larger. In the case that women are the main source of income, there seemed to be a similar response with the process of deviance neutralization to counteract those nontraditional norms. With women taking on more household jobs, as a result, they are less likely to be part of the labor force which in turn widens the wage gap.
Family composition and income can highly influence the disparities of household labor. In The Parenthood Effect on Gender Inequality: Explaining the Change in Paid and Domestic Work When British Couples Become Parents (Katherine Michelmore and Sharon Sassler, 2016) there seemed to be a reoccurring pattern of women, pre-children, who made a higher income tended to have higher retention in the labor force while women, pre-children, who had a lower income had lower retention in the labor force and spent more time dedicated to household chores. This pattern can explain the complexities of becoming a parent and the responsibilities that are traditionally passed to the mother. With fathers not usually taking on household responsibilities, women are deterred from the labor force when they do not have the economic necessities for childcare or support.
Childcare policies and other policies that challenge gender norms are needed to help change the disparities in household labor and the labor force. Paid leave policies need to be more accessible in all different occupations to support a family’s responsibility in the context of becoming a parent. Affordable childcare policies also need to be implemented to help retain women in the labor force after becoming a parent to minimize disproportions in the labor force. Promoting more equality in aspects of household and labor market is needed to help with these enduring complex issues.
Throughout research, it is clear that the world is moving in the right direction but there are still many challenges women are still facing. The understanding of division of household labor is key to understanding the more complex issues that are prevalent in our society today. With the implementation of these policies can contribute to a more equitable distribution within the household and the labor market.