Men and Housework

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that as more and more women have entered the paid workforce, one might expect that men would take on an increasing share of the housework and childcare. The writer points out that after all, the rationale for women doing almost all of this used to be that the domestic sphere was their sphere, while the paid workforce outside of the home was the male sphere. As this is no longer the case, one could reasonably expect that men would be sharing housework and childcare equally. However, while there has been some change in this respect, the writer maintains that domestic labor is still regarded by many as "women's work," and men do not participate sufficiently. This paper reviews this unfortunate situation, and the reasons for it. It argues that the primary reason for this situation is that it derives from the fundamental structure of patriarchal, capitalist societies, so that the solution can lie in nothing less than a fundamental, radical restructuring of society.

From the Paper:

"These are precisely the two major difficulties that face us in solving this riddle. For example, it would certainly seem that work in the domestic sphere and work in the paid labour force outside of the house are negatively correlated, in that the more hours one puts in at one workplace, the less hours one has available to put in at the other. It is a fact that women still work fewer hours per year, and as we noted above, it is a fact that they still do the lion's share of work in the domestic sphere. These two facts are clearly related, although in something of a chicken and egg way - and as Hou and Omwanda explain, we certainly cannot say that one factor causes the other, due to the possibility of multicausality. For example, we might need to look to religious, social or educational factors to account for the differences, as well. And even if we could say that this was the case for one woman, we could scarcely generalize to the entire population of women, particularly in a diverse country."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baxter, J. (1997). Gender Equality and participation in housework: A cross-national perspective. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 28(3), 220+.
• Davis, Angela Y. (1981). The Approaching Obsolescence of Housework: A Working-Class Perspective." In Angela Y. Davis, Women, Race and Class. New York: Vintage Books.
• Fenwick, Tara. (2004). What happens to the girls? Gender, work and learning in Canada's "New Economy." Gender & Education, 16(2), 169-185.
• Hou, F., & Omwanda, L. O. (1997). A multilevel analysis of the connection between female labour force participation and divorce in Canada, 1931-1991. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 38(3-4), 271+.
• Nakhaie, M.R. (1995). Housework in Canada: The national picture. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 26(3): 409+.

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