Doing domestic labour: Strategising in a gendered domain

TLDR: McFarlane et al. as mentioned in this paper found that women spend more time doing domestic labour than men and that pragmatic strategies and patriarchal dynamics are indeed associated with their time spent doing housework and child care.

Abstract: In this study, we ask whether and how pragmatic strategies (time availability, time demands, and resources) and patriarchal dynamics (sex and gender ideology) (McFarlane, Beaujot and Haddad, 2000) affect the time that men and women spend doing domestic labour, Data from the 1995 General Social Survey reveal that women spend more time doing domestic labour than men and that pragmatic strategies and patriarchal dynamics are indeed associated with their time spent doing housework and child care. Specifically, gender ideology is a complex, multi-dimensional factor that affects the time women and men spend in housework and child care in interesting ways. Our findings point to the importance of including both pragmatic strategies and patriarchal dynamics in assessments of domestic labour. Moreover, the results of this study provide compelling evidence of how the relationships among individual agency, broader ideological assumptions, and time spent doing domestic labour are intricately interwoven. Resume: Dans cette etude nous cherchons a determiner si les strategies pragmatiques (disponibilite, emploi du temps et ressources) et les rapports patriarcaux (ideologie liee au sexe) (McFarlane, Beaujot et Haddad, 2000) ont des incidences sur le temps que les hommes et les femmes passent a des taches menageres. Des donnees provenant de I'Enquete sociale generale de 1995 ont indique que les femmes passent plus de temps a s'occuper de taches menageres que les hommes et que les strategies pragmatiques et les rapports patriarcaux sont effectivement lies au temps passe a s'occuper de tachus menageres et aux soins des enfants. Plus particulierement, I'ideologie un factour complexe multidimensionnel qui affecte le temps que les femmes et les hommes passent a des taches menagerees et a s'occuper des enfants et ce, de plusiers manieres interessantes. Nos conclusions indiquent qu'il est important d'inclure les strategies pragmatiques et les rapports patriarcaux dans I'evaluation des taches menageres, De plus, cette etude a revele des preuves peremptoires indiquant la mesure dans laquelle les rapports entre les individus, les grendes hypothses ideologiques et le temps passe a s'occuper de taches menageres soot intrinsequement lies. Introduction Although men have increased their share of domestic labour in recent years the fact remains that women still spend significantly more time engaged in household work (Sullivan, 2000). Studies of the division of domestic labour show that housework is embedded in complex and shifting patterns of social relations (Coltrane, 2000). McFarlane, Beaujot, and Haddad (2000) identify some of this complexity when they suggest that the distribution of household labour can be explained by a combination of pragmatic strategies and patriarchal dynamics. Pragmatic strategies are linked to exchange theories of behaviour and place emphasis on issues such as economic resources and time availability. Hence, the more economic resources a person has in relation to their spouse, the less time they will spend engaged in domestic labour. Patriarchal dynamics approaches rely on cultural factors and ideological assumptions in assessments of time spent in household labour and recognise that domestic labour is one mechanism through which gender is socially constructed. By identifying both pragmatic strategies and patriarchal dynamics as contributing explanations of the distribution of household labour, MeFarlane and his colleagues point to the sociological importance of considering the intersection between social structures and individuals in examinations of social life. Individuals strategize about who does what and how much around the home and they do so by taking things such as time availability and relative resources into account. Couples try to decide what is fair based on these considerations. However, these negotiations take place within the context of a broader social structure that places limits on the choices that men and women have in making these decisions. …