Can robots improve gender equality: an assessment based on household labor

Wanqing Liao, Nan Zhao () and Zizhe Zhang
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Wanqing Liao: Beijing Normal University
Nan Zhao: Beijing Normal University
Zizhe Zhang: Peking University

Review of Economics of the Household, 2025, vol. 23, issue 4, No 12, 1487-1525

Abstract: Abstract This is the first study to theoretically and empirically examine the effect of industrial robot adoption on household labor division. Our theoretical analysis suggests that industrial robots influence gender performance in the labor market and gender ideologies, thereby reshaping the distribution of household labor between spouses. Using panel data from the International Federation of Robotics and China Family Panel Studies (2014–2020), we find that a one-standard-deviation increase in industrial robot exposure leads to a 6.3% increase in the share of housework taken on by husbands relative to the average level, promoting gender equality. This effect is driven primarily by an increase in wives’ income share and more egalitarian gender role attitudes among husbands, although husbands’ wages and working hours are negatively affected by industrial robots. Moreover, changes in the division of household labor are less evident in areas influenced by Confucian culture and with lower levels of technological development than in other areas, potentially widening regional gender equality gaps. Our findings provide valuable insights for achieving the gender equality goals outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: Industrial robot; The division of household labor; Gender equality; Gender wage gap (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J22 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11150-025-09805-1

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