FH4 - Domestic Division of Labour 

The domestic division of labour refers to how tasks such as housework, childcare, and decision-making are divided within the household.
Historically, these roles followed traditional gender lines, but in recent decades, social change, feminism, and shifts in employment have transformed family life.
Sociologists study how power, gender, and work interact within the home to reveal whether equality between men and women has truly been achieved.

Traditional Perspectives on Gender Roles

Talcott Parsons – Functionalist View

  • Parsons (1955) argued that gender roles are biologically determined and serve important social functions.

  • He identified two key roles:

    • Instrumental role (men): Providing financial support and discipline.

    • Expressive role (women): Nurturing, emotional care, and managing the home.

  • Parsons believed this division was natural and functional, helping families operate efficiently.

Criticisms:

  • Ignores social and cultural factors shaping gender roles.

  • Reinforces patriarchal stereotypes and traditional gender inequality.

Elizabeth Bott – Conjugal Roles

  • Bott (1957) introduced the concepts of separate and joint conjugal roles:

    • Separate roles: Husband and wife have distinct responsibilities and leisure activities.

    • Joint roles: Partners share domestic work and leisure time.

  • Bott’s research showed that family roles vary depending on class, culture, and lifestyle.

The March of Progress View

Willmott and Young – The Symmetrical Family

  • Claimed that families are becoming more egalitarian and symmetrical.

  • Key features:

    • Shared housework and childcare

    • Increased male involvement in the home

    • Dual-earner households becoming the norm

  • Found that younger couples and geographically mobile families are most likely to show this pattern.

  • In the UK today:

    • 70% of women of working age are employed.

    • Nearly half of mothers with children under five are in paid work.

    • Yet, only 36% of couples report the man as the main caregiver.

Why Are Roles Changing?

Economically Active Women

The most important reason for changing roles is the increased participation of women in paid employment.

  • In the mid-20th century, most women were full-time homemakers, but today around 70% of women of working age in the UK are employed.

  • As more women pursue education and careers, they gain financial independence, reducing reliance on men for economic support.

  • The rise of dual-earner families means domestic work must be negotiated and shared rather than automatically assigned to women.

  • Feminist sociologists see this as part of a wider process of gender equality, with women gaining both economic and decision-making power within families.

Decline of the Extended Family

The decline of extended family living has also influenced domestic roles.

  • In the past, grandparents and other relatives provided informal childcare and household help, especially for working mothers.

  • As more people live in nuclear households or as single-parent families, couples must now manage domestic and childcare duties themselves.

  • This often encourages a more cooperative approach, as both partners have to contribute to daily life.

  • Some families now rely on paid support—for example, childminders, cleaners, or after-school clubs—replacing the role once played by extended relatives.

Weakening Gender Identities

Traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity are becoming less rigid.

  • Younger generations increasingly reject stereotypes that men should be breadwinners and women homemakers.

  • There is a rise in gender-neutral parenting, where chores and responsibilities are divided based on practicality, not gender.

  • Workplace equality policies and shared parental leave encourage men to take a more active role in childcare.

  • Changing media representations also play a role — modern advertising and popular culture increasingly portray men as caregivers and homemakers, normalising equality at home.

Technology and Living Standards

Technological innovation has transformed domestic life and reduced the time required for many household tasks.

  • Household appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, and robotic vacuum cleaners have simplified chores once considered time-consuming.

  • Online shopping, food delivery, and automation allow families to manage household responsibilities more efficiently.

  • Improved living standards mean many families can afford labour-saving devices, further reducing physical workload.

  • These developments allow for greater equality in domestic roles, as domestic work no longer depends on physical strength or long hours.

Commercialisation of Domestic Labour

Modern families increasingly rely on the marketisation of domestic tasks, outsourcing work that was traditionally done within the home.

  • Growth of cleaning companies, nurseries, meal kits, and delivery services has allowed families to save time and reduce domestic pressures.

  • However, sociologists argue that these services often shift, rather than eliminate, gender inequality.

  • Women typically act as household managers, responsible for arranging childcare, scheduling cleaners, and managing family logistics.

  • This maintains the “mental load” (Daminger, 2019) — the invisible emotional and organisational labour that women disproportionately perform.

Evaluation of Progress

Persistent Inequalities

  • Despite progress, women still do more housework than men.

  • Women spend 1.8 times more time on domestic labour than men on average.

  • McKee and Bell (1986): Even unemployed men resisted housework, showing the strength of traditional gender norms.

  • Ann Oakley (1974): Found that men often describe their help around the home as “helping” their wives — not sharing responsibility equally.

  • David Morley (1992): “Women see the home as a place of work; men see it as a place of leisure.”

  • Craig (2007): Found a “partnership penalty” and “marriage penalty,” where women do up to a third more housework once cohabiting or married.

Evidence of Progress

  • Willmott and Young: Rise in symmetrical family and shared roles.

  • British Social Attitudes Survey: Shows gradual increases in male participation in childcare; 36% of couples now report men as the primary caregiver.

  • Dunne (1999): Found that same-sex couples share tasks more equally, free from traditional gender expectations.

    • However, income differences can still lead to inequality.