Housework, Childcare, and Fertility Intentions: The Role of Fathers’ Involvement in Belarus

The impact of fathers’ involvement in household tasks on fertility intentions is being both increasingly acknowledged and contested. This article adds to the evidence base by analysing the relationship between fathers’ involvement in childcare and housework and the short‐term fertility intentions of mothers and fathers in Belarus. Due to its fertility dynamics, marked by early first childbearing, low‐to‐no second childbearing, and high divorce rates, the case of Belarus presents an opportunity to revisit theoretical assumptions surrounding fathers’ involvement and their role in second‐parity transitions. Employing the results of the Generations and Gender Survey (2017) for Belarus, I performed separate logistic regressions for mothers and fathers who are fertile, aged 18 to 45, in a partnership, and have at least one child under 14 years of age in the household. The results revealed that fathers’ involvement in childcare is positively associated with the fertility intentions of the fathers, but not those of the mothers. In contrast, fathers’ involvement in housework is positively associated with the fertility intentions of the mothers, but not those of the fathers. Furthermore, education, the self‐assessed household economic situation, and employment status are associated with fertility intentions, while gender‐related values are not. The results provide partial support for the multiple equilibrium framework, but also challenge its underlying assumption that gender role symmetry drives higher fertility. Rather, the study reveals that the effects of fathers’ participation in the household are contingent on gender and the type of task, and that factors related both to gender and to economic well‐being and certainty should be considered when analysing fertility intentions.