Child Custody: Gendered Division of Parenting Work

• In Event: 3523 - Family Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 5: Gender and Families

Abstract

Many parents turn to the courts to determine where a child lives and how much time they spend with each parent, as a majority of children are no longer growing up in nuclear, married households. Using data from 45 qualitative interviews, this study examines how parents with a child custody court order shared parenting work and demonstrates the role of gender in the type of caregiving work parents do. Mothers performed most of the everyday, administrative, and medical work. On the other hand, fathers focused on bonding with their children through fun, and fathers with joint physical custody emphasized emotional support. These findings demonstrate the persistence of gendered division of labor similar to married households, despite state intervention.

Author

• Adriana Ponce, University of Michigan