Division of Housework among Dual-Earner Couples in East Asian Countries

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. The Division of Household Labor

Abstract

This study examines the division of household labor among dual-earner couples in four East Asian countries: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Previous studies have pointed out that the division of housework in East Asian countries is rigidly gendered. Wives shoulder the vast majority of housework even when they work outside the house. Utilizing the 2006 East Asian Social Survey data, I analyze the division of housework and factors affecting the division labor in these countries. In addition, cross-national variances in the wife’s sense of entitlement to a more egalitarian division of housework are analyzed. The results suggest that, among these countries, the wife’s share of housework is the largest in Japan. The findings also show that the impact of individual’s attitudes and characteristics on the husband’s share of housework tends to be weaker in China, while the impact of the wife’s income on the husband’s share of housework is the strongest in Korea. Implications for these cross-national differences are discussed.

Author

• Makiko Fuwa, Tokyo Metropolitan University