Does Disability among Married Parents Elicit Gender-Neutral Time Allocations?

• In Event: 158 - Section on Disability and Society Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Disability and Society Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01

Abstract

No agreement has been reached about gender differences in paid and unpaid work time. Some claim that paid and unpaid work time of married couples is converging. Others contend that increases in time husbands spend on unpaid work are outweighed by increases in time wives spend on paid work while still spending equal time doing unpaid work. This study adds knowledge to this debate by investigating the balance married couples strike between the time each spends on paid and unpaid work when either partner or both have a disability. Findings confirm that disabilities among couples explain differentials in the time each partner allocates to paid and unpaid work. Parental disability encourages gender neutrality by reducing gender disparities in time allocated to housework, volunteering, paid work, and child caring.
Key words: Disabilities, time use diaries, paid and unpaid work, work and family.

Author

• Peter D. Brandon, State University of New York-Albany