ERIC Number: ED299518
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1988-Apr
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Division of Labor in the Home: Who Is Doing the Work?
Temple, Lori L.; Colletto, Kim
Recent predictions suggest that because of the increase in the number of women acquiring gainful employment, work in the home should be divided in more egalitarian ways. Recent research, however, has shown that traditional male tasks were more likely to be shared than were traditional female tasks. This study investigated further the "superwoman" syndrome by looking at who is doing the work in the home, as well as the trend toward traditionalism. Also, the division of labor in the homes of married persons was compared to that of unmarried persons. Subjects (N=266) were asked to specify who in the household performed 24 specific chores. Unmarried subjects were asked to predict how they would expect the chores would be divided. Results from the married subjects showed that traditional male tasks were more likely to be shared than were traditional female tasks. Data from the singles showed that males expected to share some of the traditional female tasks, whereas females expected the division of labor to fall along traditional lines. Previous predictions about the trend towards egalitarian divisions of labor were not confirmed. Instead, women seemed to be experiencing the "superwoman syndrome," having it all by doing it all. (The survey instrument is appended.) (Author/ABL)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A