IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/poprpr/v43y2024i2d10.1007_s11113-024-09872-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Gendered Division of Housework in China: Parenthood Effects and Heterogeneity Across Parenthood Stages

Author

Listed:
  • Xueqian Chen

    (The Ohio State University)

Abstract

Research documents that the gender gap in housework is substantially larger among parents compared to couples without children. Because most evidence is from developed countries, it is unclear if a similar pattern exists in China, where couples have fewer children and the gendered division of household labor is more pronounced. Based on longitudinal survey data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1997–2015) and two-way person-based fixed effects models, the present study examined the effects of parenthood on spouses’ housework time and share, as well as the heterogeneity across different parenthood stages within heterosexual marriages. The findings suggest that the birth of a child widens the gendered division of housework for Chinese families by substantially increasing housework time for mothers and reducing it for fathers. This gendered division of housework is most pronounced when the youngest child is a preschooler and remains unequal in subsequent parenthood stages. Overall, the study is among the first to demonstrate that parenthood is a highly gendered process in China that widens the gender divide of housework for married couples.

Suggested Citation

  • Xueqian Chen, 2024. "The Gendered Division of Housework in China: Parenthood Effects and Heterogeneity Across Parenthood Stages," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(2), pages 1-33, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:43:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11113-024-09872-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-024-09872-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11113-024-09872-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11113-024-09872-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter McDonald, 2000. "Gender Equity in Theories of Fertility Transition," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 427-439, September.
    2. Blau, David M & Robins, Philip K, 1988. "Child-Care Costs and Family Labor Supply," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(3), pages 374-381, August.
    3. Margaret Maurer-Fazio & Rachel Connelly & Lan Chen & Lixin Tang, 2011. "Childcare, Eldercare, and Labor Force Participation of Married Women in Urban China, 1982–2000," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(2), pages 261-294.
    4. Gøsta Esping-Andersen & Francesco C. Billari, 2015. "Re-theorizing Family Demographics," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(1), pages 1-31, March.
    5. Ke Shen & Ping Yan & Yi Zeng, 2016. "Coresidence with elderly parents and female labor supply in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(23), pages 645-670.
    6. Junsen Zhang & Jun Han & Pak-Wai Liu & Yaohui Zhao, 2008. "Trends in the Gender Earnings Differential in Urban China, 1988–2004," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(2), pages 224-243, January.
    7. Ahluwalia, Montek S., 1976. "Inequality, poverty and development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 307-342, December.
    8. Nan Jia & Xiao-Yuan Dong, 2013. "Economic transition and the motherhood wage penalty in urban China: investigation using panel data," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 37(4), pages 819-843.
    9. Frances Goldscheider & Eva Bernhardt & Trude Lappegård, 2015. "The Gender Revolution: A Framework for Understanding Changing Family and Demographic Behavior," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 207-239, June.
    10. Xiao-yuan Dong & Xinli An, 2015. "Gender Patterns and Value of Unpaid Care Work: Findings From China's First Large-Scale Time Use Survey," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(3), pages 540-560, September.
    11. Jia Yu & Yu Xie, 2021. "Recent trends in the Chinese family: National estimates from 1990 to 2010," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(25), pages 595-608.
    12. Man-Yee Kan & Ekaterina Hertog & Kamila Kolpashnikova, 2019. "Housework share and fertility preference in four East Asian countries in 2006 and 2012," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(35), pages 1021-1046.
    13. Liangshu Qi & Xiao-yuan Dong, 2016. "Unpaid Care Work's Interference with Paid Work and the Gender Earnings Gap in China," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 143-167, April.
    14. Rachel Connelly & Xiao-yuan Dong & Joyce Jacobsen & Yaohui Zhao, 2018. "The Care Economy in Post-Reform China: Feminist Research on Unpaid and Paid Work and Well-Being," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 1-30, April.
    15. Julie Brines, 1993. "The Exchange Value of Housework," Rationality and Society, , vol. 5(3), pages 302-340, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Menghan Zhao, 2018. "From Motherhood Premium to Motherhood Penalty? Heterogeneous Effects of Motherhood Stages on Women’s Economic Outcomes in Urban China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(6), pages 967-1002, December.
    2. Shuang Chen, 2022. "The Positive Effect of Women’s Education on Fertility in Low-Fertility China," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(1), pages 125-161, March.
    3. Leen Marynissen & Eleonora Mussino & Jonas Wood & Ann-Zofie Duvander, 2019. "Fathers’ Parental Leave Uptake in Belgium and Sweden: Self-Evident or Subject to Employment Characteristics?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Ester Lazzari, 2021. "Changing trends between education, childlessness and completed fertility: a cohort analysis of Australian women born in 1952–1971," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 417-441, December.
    5. Julia Hellstrand & Jessica Nisén & Mikko Myrskylä, 2022. "Less Partnering, Less Children, or Both? Analysis of the Drivers of First Birth Decline in Finland Since 2010," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(2), pages 191-221, May.
    6. Jonas Wood & Sebastian Klüsener & Karel Neels & Mikko Myrskylä, 2017. "Is a positive link between human development and fertility attainable? Insights from the Belgian vanguard case," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2017-014, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    7. Anna Matysiak & Dorota Węziak-Białowolska, 2016. "Country-Specific Conditions for Work and Family Reconciliation: An Attempt at Quantification," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(4), pages 475-510, October.
    8. Julia Hellstrand & Jessica Nisén & Mikko Myrskylä, 2021. "Less partnering, less children, or both? Analysis of the drivers of first-birth decline in Finland since 2010?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2021-008, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    9. Xiana Bueno & Ignacio Pardo, 2023. "Gender-role attitudes and fertility ideals in Latin America," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 1-21, March.
    10. Sara Cools & Rannveig Kaldager Hart, 2017. "The Effect of Childhood Family Size on Fertility in Adulthood: New Evidence From IV Estimation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 23-44, February.
    11. Ansgar Hudde, 2018. "Societal Agreement on Gender Role Attitudes and Childlessness in 38 Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 745-767, December.
    12. Martin Kolk, 2019. "Weak support for a U-shaped pattern between societal gender equality and fertility when comparing societies across time," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(2), pages 27-48.
    13. Ansgar Hudde & Henriette Engelhardt, 2023. "Family inequality: On the changing educational gradient of family patterns in Western Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(20), pages 549-590.
    14. Soo-Yeon Yoon, 2017. "The influence of a supportive environment for families on women’s fertility intentions and behavior in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(7), pages 227-254.
    15. Sunnee Billingsley & Gerda Neyer & Katharina Wesolowski, 2022. "Social Investment Policies and Childbearing Across 20 Countries: Longitudinal and Micro-Level Analyses," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 951-974, December.
    16. Youngcho Lee, 2022. "Is Leave for Fathers Pronatalist? A Mixed-Methods Study of the Impact of Fathers’ Uptake of Parental Leave on Couples’ Childbearing Intentions in South Korea," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1471-1500, August.
    17. Ari Klængur Jónsson, 2018. "Family policies, childbearing, and economic crisis: The case of Iceland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(19), pages 561-592.
    18. Beata Osiewalska, 2018. "Partners’ empowerment and fertility in ten European countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(49), pages 1495-1534.
    19. Muzhi Zhou & Man-Yee Kan, 2019. "A new family equilibrium? Changing dynamics between the gender division of labor and fertility in Great Britain, 1991–2017," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(50), pages 1455-1500.
    20. Hudde, Ansgar, 2016. "Fertility Is Low When There Is No Societal Agreement on a Specific Gender Role Model," EconStor Preprints 142175, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:43:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11113-024-09872-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.