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Culture and Gender Allocation of Tasks: Source Country Characteristics and the Division of Non-Market Work among US Immigrants

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Listed:
  • Francine D. Blau
  • Lawrence Kahn
  • Matthew Comey
  • Amanda Eng
  • Pamela Meyerhofer
  • Alexander Willén

Abstract

There is a well-known gender difference in time allocation within the household, which has important implications for gender differences in labor market outcomes. We ask how malleable this gender difference in time allocation is to culture. In particular, we ask if US immigrants allocate tasks differently depending upon the characteristics of the source countries from which they emigrated. Using data from the 2003-2017 waves of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that first-generation immigrants, both women and men, from source countries with more gender equality (as measured by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index) allocate tasks more equally, while those from less gender equal source countries allocate tasks more traditionally. These results are robust to controls for immigration cohort, years since migration, and other own and spouse characteristics. There is also some indication of an effect of parent source country gender equality for second-generation immigrants, particularly for second-generation men with children. Our findings suggest that broader cultural factors do influence the gender division of labor in the household.

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  • Francine D. Blau & Lawrence Kahn & Matthew Comey & Amanda Eng & Pamela Meyerhofer & Alexander Willén, 2020. "Culture and Gender Allocation of Tasks: Source Country Characteristics and the Division of Non-Market Work among US Immigrants," CESifo Working Paper Series 8195, CESifo.
  • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8195
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    5. Ylenia Brilli & Simone Moriconi, 2023. "Culture of Origin, Parenting, and Household Labor Supply," Working Papers 2023: 17, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    6. Jessen, Jonas, 2022. "Culture, children and couple gender inequality," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Kumar, Rahul & Maity, Bipasha, 2022. "Cultural norms and women’s health: Implications of the practice of menstrual restrictions in Nepal," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    8. Ayaita, Adam, 2023. "Ethnic Minority Background and Personality Characteristics: Evidence from a Representative Sample of the Adult Population," EconStor Preprints 251745, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, revised 2023.
    9. Grossbard Shoshana Amyra & Vernon Victoria, 2020. "Do immigrants pay a price when marrying natives? Lessons from the US time use survey," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-37, January.
    10. Marina Morales & Miriam Marcén, 2024. "The effect of gender norms on gender-based sorting across occupations," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 831-864, June.
    11. Bredtmann, Julia & Otten, Sebastian, 2023. "Natives' gender norms and the labor market integration of female immigrants," Ruhr Economic Papers 1042, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    12. Julia Bredtmann & Sebastian Otten, 2023. "Culture and the labor supply of female immigrants," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(2), pages 282-300, April.
    13. William Jergins, 2024. "Gender equity and male and female smoking behavior," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(3), pages 448-473, July.
    14. Ferrer, Ana M. & Mascella, Allison, 2022. "Immigrant gaps in parental time investments into children's human capital activities," CLEF Working Paper Series 48, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    15. Héctor Bellido & Miriam Marcén & Marina Morales, 2021. "The Reverse Gender Gap in Volunteer Activities: Does Culture Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-15, June.
    16. Averkamp, Dorothée & Bredemeier, Christian & Juessen, Falko, 2021. "Decomposing Gender Wage Gaps - A Family Economics Perspective," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242361, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Shelly Lundberg, 2023. "Gender Economics: Dead-Ends and New Opportunities," Research in Labor Economics, in: 50th Celebratory Volume, volume 50, pages 151-189, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    18. Simon Rabaté & Externe auteur: Sara Rellstab, 2021. "The Child Penalty in the Netherlands and its Determinants," CPB Discussion Paper 424, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    19. Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina, 2022. "The effect of gender norms on gender-based sorting across occupations," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1160, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    20. Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina, 2021. "Culture and the cross-country differences in the gender commuting gap," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    housework; childcare; gender; immigration; time allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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