Converging Gender Roles
Men's entry into housework called the 'stalled' revolution.
| Category | Diversity: Gender |
| Details | While women’s entry into the job market has been dramatic, men’s entry into housework has been gradual, prompting some to call the latter a ‘stalled revolution’. However, this study shows that, although gender differences persist in the division of labour, they are steadily diminishing. Since 1986, of the total time spent on paid and unpaid work, women aged 25 to 54 have proportionally increased their average daily time at a job (4.4 hours of 8.8 in 2005), while men have increased their time on housework (1.4 of 8.8 hours in 2005). As women’s job attachment has increased, so too has men’s involvement in housework and child care. Women’s increasing hours in paid labour (and thus income), combined with “normative changes in the direction of equality and sharing” (Beaujot 2006, p. 24) is likely to further reduce gender differences in the division of labour in the future . However, not only are more men and women sharing the economic and domestic responsibilities in families, but most are also increasing the length of their paid workday. This has helped position work–life balance among the top 10 issues in collective bargaining. It has risen in importance because of the “increased recognition of the costs of work–life imbalance in terms of workplace injury rates and the general health of workers, as well as the development and well-being of children and aging parents” (Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation 2002, p. 4). Dual-earner couples who worked long days doing their job plus housework and who had dependent children at home were less satisfied with their work–life balance. They also felt more time-stressed, particularly women. However, despite these stage-of-life pressures, the majority of dual-earner husbands and wives felt satisfied with their life as a whole. Increasingly, employees are legally entitled to various kinds of paid and unpaid leave for family responsibilities. As well, more workplaces are offering flexible work arrangements, health promotion and employee assistance programs, and other family support such as on-site child care. It has been shown that employees with flextime arrangements feel considerably less timestressed than those without this benefit (Fast and Frederick 1996). In short, changing work arrangements in the home are inspiring alternative work arrangements at the office. |
| Author | Katherine Marshall |
| Publication Date | July 2006 |
| Source | www.statcan.gc.ca |
| Format | |
| Availability | Download the report: Converging gender roles |
| Related Links | Download the study: An Examination of Gender Differences in Work-Life Conflict |
