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Gender Divisions of Paid and Unpaid Work in Contemporary UK Couples

Author

Listed:
  • Anne McMunn

    (University College London (UCL), UK)

  • Lauren Bird

    (Imperial College, UK)

  • Elizabeth Webb

    (University College London (UCL), UK)

  • Amanda Sacker

    (University College London (UCL), UK)

Abstract

This article uses data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study to describe how contemporary British couples divide a range of work types. Our findings support the hypothesis, suggested by previous authors, that a shared egalitarian ideology is required for gender equality in divisions of work. In response to bargaining theories, the article also hypothesises that differentials in educational attainment within couples are more strongly associated with gender divisions of work when a couple’s gender ideology is in conflict. Interaction analysis does not support this hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne McMunn & Lauren Bird & Elizabeth Webb & Amanda Sacker, 2020. "Gender Divisions of Paid and Unpaid Work in Contemporary UK Couples," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(2), pages 155-173, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:34:y:2020:i:2:p:155-173
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017019862153
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rebecca E Lacey & Anne McMunn & Elizabeth Webb, 2018. "Informal caregiving and markers of adiposity in the UK Household Longitudinal Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, July.
    2. George Argyrous & Lyn Craig & Sara Rahman, 2017. "The Effect of a First Born Child on Work and Childcare Time Allocation: Pre-post Analysis of Australian Couples," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 831-851, March.
    3. Wendy Sigle-Rushton & Jane Waldfogel, 2007. "Motherhood and women's earnings in Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic Countries," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 55-91.
    4. Khoudja, Yassine & Platt, Lucinda, 2018. "Labour market entries and exits of women from different origin countries in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 85154, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Janeen Baxter & Belinda Hewitt, 2013. "Negotiating Domestic Labor: Women's Earnings and Housework Time in Australia," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 29-53, January.
    6. Nabanita Datta Gupta & Leslie Stratton, 2010. "Examining the impact of alternative power measures on individual time use in American and Danish couple households," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 325-343, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Grinza, Elena & Devicienti, Francesco & Rossi, Mariacristina & Vannoni, Davide, 2017. "How Entry into Parenthood Shapes Gender Role Attitudes: New Evidence from Longitudinal UK Data," IZA Discussion Papers 11088, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Emily Christopher, 2021. "Capturing Conflicting Accounts of Domestic Labour: The Household Portrait as a Methodology," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 26(3), pages 451-468, September.
    4. Senhu Wang & Adam Coutts & Brendan Burchell & Daiga KamerÄ de & Ursula Balderson, 2021. "Can Active Labour Market Programmes Emulate the Mental Health Benefits of Regular Paid Employment? Longitudinal Evidence from the United Kingdom," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(3), pages 545-565, June.
    5. Florianne C. J. Verkroost, 2022. "A Bayesian multivariate hierarchical growth curve model to examine cumulative socio‐economic (dis)advantage among childless adults and parents," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(4), pages 2234-2276, October.
    6. Darmody, Merike & Smyth, Emer & Russell, Helen, 2020. "The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for policy in relation to children and young people: a research review," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number SUSTAT94.
    7. Niels Blom & Lynn Prince Cooke, 2024. "Wage Effects of Couples’ Divisions of Labour across the UK Wage Distribution," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(5), pages 1223-1243, October.
    8. Anna Matysiak & Agnieszka Kasperska & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2023. "Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Work From Home on Careers in the Post-Covid Context," Working Papers 2023-28, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    9. Natalie Nitsche & Daniela Grunow & Ansgar Hudde, 2023. "Couples’ ideological pairings, relative income and housework sharing," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-033, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    10. Alfred J. Lawrence & Umama Fatima & Faiza Ali & Ancey Abraham & Saima Arif & Tahmeena Khan, 2023. "COVID-19 and Its Impact on Diverse Aspects of Women’s Lives," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 30(2), pages 148-169, June.
    11. Senhu Wang & Lambert Zixin Li, 2023. "Double Jeopardy: The Roles of Job Autonomy and Spousal Gender Ideology in Employed Women’s Mental Health," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 473-490, February.
    12. Agnieszka Kasperska, 2022. "Working from Home and Employee Perception of Career Prospects in Europe: the Gender and Family Perspectives," Working Papers 2022-31, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    13. Alejandra Rodríguez Sánchez & Anette Fasang & Susan Harkness, 2021. "Gender division of housework during the COVID-19 pandemic: Temporary shocks or durable change?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(43), pages 1297-1316.
    14. Massimiliano Pau & Micaela Porta & Giancarlo Coghe & Jessica Frau & Lorena Lorefice & Eleonora Cocco, 2020. "Does Multiple Sclerosis Differently Impact Physical Activity in Women and Man? A Quantitative Study Based on Wearable Accelerometers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-13, November.
    15. Ariane Agunsoye & Jerome Monne & Janette Rutterford & Dimitris P. Sotiropoulos, 2022. "How gender, marital status, and gender norms affect savings goals," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 157-183, May.
    16. Aga Kasperska & Anna Matysiak & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2023. "Managerial Preferences towards Employees Working from Home: Post-Pandemic Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 2023-16, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    17. Giorgio Di Gessa & Baowen Xue & Rebecca Lacey & Anne McMunn, 2022. "Young Adult Carers in the UK—New Evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-13, October.

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    Keywords

    gender divisions of work; gender ideology;

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