Gender Roles, Comparative Advantages and the Life Course: The Division of Domestic Labor in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples

Gerrit Bauer ()

European Journal of Population, 2016, vol. 32, issue 1, No 5, 99-128

Abstract: Abstract Lesbian and gay couples by definition cannot establish sex-specific divisions of domestic tasks, at least not literally. Previous research has shown that high levels of equality characterize domestic work arrangements in same-sex couples. This study scrutinizes explanations for this. The theoretical background stems from family economics, from the theory of relative resources and from gender role and life-course considerations. The empirical analysis is based upon the Generations and Gender Survey from Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Australia. Results show that same-sex partners engage in more tasks equally, that their housework-sharing pattern is less segregated and that the partners’ workload is more equally balanced. Comparative advantages, life-course differences and gender roles contribute to the explanation of higher levels of equality in same-sex compared to different-sex relationships.

Keywords: Division of housework; Same-sex couples; Family economics; Gender roles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1007/s10680-015-9363-z

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