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A gender gap in gender gaps: social norms and housework reporting

Author

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  • Martin Acht

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT
    Federal Ministry of Finance)

  • Mara Rebaudo

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT
    University of Freiburg)

Abstract

Gender differences in the amount of housework performed and the role of social norms in explaining these persistent gaps have received increasing attention from both policymakers and researchers in recent years. However, norms may not only affect the actual division of housework but also potentially influence the reporting behavior in surveys. We study how retrospective responses about time-use in face-to-face interviews are influenced by the gender of the interviewer. Our findings show that women tend to report significantly more hours of housework when interviewed by a woman rather than by a man. This effect is not observable for male respondents, resulting in an interviewer gender gap in the housework gender gap. Exploring the effect in relation to several norm-related characteristics indicates that social norms play an important role in the reporting of housework hours. Therefore, gender gap estimates based on face-to-face interviews should be interpreted with great caution.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Acht & Mara Rebaudo, 2025. "A gender gap in gender gaps: social norms and housework reporting," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 68(6), pages 2977-3029, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:68:y:2025:i:6:d:10.1007_s00181-024-02710-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-024-02710-z
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    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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