Sharing the Load : Men's and Women's Attitudes Toward Household and Childcare Tasks

Abstract

Studies suggest that the division of household labor and childcare, even in dual-earner households, is imbalanced. Women spend more time than men do on household and childcare tasks. Gender differences in childcare exist even in samples of men and women who are well-informed about gender egalitarian ideals. For example, among tenure-track faculty with small children, mothers report doing far more childcare than fathers do. In the current study, we predicted that male-female differences in enjoyment of household and childcare tasks would parallel male-female differences in their preferences for splitting household and childcare tasks with a partner.