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divisionof householdlabor,evenin theabsenceof anyincreasein men'shousework time (some studies use only proportionalmeasuresbut find thatthe division of household laboris more equal when wives are employed (Maret& Finlay 1984, Newell 1993, Shamir1986, Spitze 1986). It is less clear whether men's houseworktime variesby theirwives' employmentstatusor paid work time, but if thereis some increaseit is smallerthanthe decreasein women's houseworktime. Men's paid work is consistently and negatively associated with theirhouseworktime.

Using workscheduleto indicatetimeconstraintsandtheabilityto respondto demands,Presser(1994) reportsthatmen who workdifferenthoursthantheir wives spendmoretime on houseworkthanthose who workthe samehours(see also Blair & Lichter 1991, Brayfield 1995, Kingston& Nock 1985, Wharton 1994). Pleck & Staines (1985) find thatboth women's and men's housework time is positively associatedwith workingdifferenthoursthana spouse. However,Barnett& Baruch(1987) findno associationbetweenflexibilityof wife's workscheduleandhusband'sparticipationin householdlabor.

Similarly, some studies focus on comparisonsof dual-earnerand singleearnerhouseholds. Generally,these studies find that women in dual-earner households still are responsiblefor the majorityof householdlabor (Berardo et al 1987, Bergmann1986), and that the division is often sex-typed by task (Coltrane 1990, Mederer 1993), althoughwomen in dual-earnerhouseholds typicallyhaveless responsibilityforsuchtasksthando womenin single-earner households(Maret& Finlay 1984).

The effect of childrenon women'sandmen'shouseworktimeis similarto the effect of women'semploymentin thatchildrenhavea largereffect on women's houseworktime than on men's (Gershuny& Robinson 1988, Shelton 1992). The morechildrentherearein a household,especiallythemorepreschoolchildren, the more time women, and to a lesser extentmen, spend on housework (Berardoet al 1987, Bergen 1991, Brines 1993, McAllister1990, Presser1994, Shelton & John 1993a,b,South& Spitze 1994), althougha few studies, often with regionalor non-US samples,findno associationbetweennumberof children and women's houseworktime (Calasanti& Bailey 1991, Douthitt 1989, Hiller& Philliber1986).

Althoughtime constraintstypicallyaccountfor the largestamountof variation in the division of householdlabor,a majorproblemwith this explanation is that it fails to account for differencesin effects for women and men. For example,althoughworkscheduleaffects bothwomen's andmen's housework time,the effect is differentfor womenthanformen,andthis differenceis unexplainedby the time constraintsmodel. The sameholds truefor the demandsof children. Althoughchildrenaffect both women's and men's houseworktime,

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THEDIVISIONOFHOUSEHOLDLABOR 309

the effect is largerfor women thanfor men. Even if women's fewer hoursof paidlaborfully accountedfor theirgreaterhouseworktime, this approachfails to addresswhy women would spend less time in paid labor. These problems as well as inconsistenciesin the evaluationsof both the relativeresourceand time constraintsperspectivesin particular,suggest thatsome otherdynamicis relatedto how houseworkis divided.

OtherFactorsAffectingtheDivision of HouseholdLabor

MARITALSTATUS Someoftheresearchonhouseholdlaborhasfocusedonthe relationshipbetweenmaritalstatusandhouseworktime. Marriedwomenspend significantlymore time on houseworkthan do cohabitingwomen (Denmark et al 1985), even aftera numberof factors(like numberof childrenand paid workhours)havebeen takeninto consideration(Shelton& John 1993a, South & Spitze 1994). While some researchsuggeststhatcohabitingmenspendmore time on houseworkthando marriedmen (Denmarket al 1985, Kotkin 1983), moststudiesreportnodifferenceinmen'shouseholdlabortimebymaritalstatus (Shelton & John 1993a, South & Spitze 1994). Marriedcouples have a more traditionaldivision of household labor than do cohabitingcouples (Stafford et al 1977) as well as a more segregateddistributionof tasks (Blair & Lichter 1991).

Otherresearchersfind thatremarriedmen spend more time on housework than do men in first marriages,at least for those with biological childrenin the home (Ishii-Kuntz& Coltrane1992b). Demo & Acock (1993) note that divorcedand first-marriedmothersspendmore hoursper week on housework thandoremarriedorsingle women. McAllister(1990) findsthatsingle menand womenspendless time on houseworkthantheirmarriedcounterparts,although single womenspendmoretime on houseworkthansingle men. South& Spitze (1994) reportthatmarriedmen and single men living with theirparentsspend less time on houseworkthando othermen andthatdivorcedandwidowedmen spendmoretime on female-typedtasksthanmarriedmen.

Kurdek(1993) andBlumstein& Schwartz(1983) haveexaminedthedivision of householdlaboramonggay male andlesbiancouples. Both studiessuggest thatalthoughthedivisionof householdlaboris unequalamongbothlesbianand gay male couples, more of these couples have an equal division of household laborthanis the case for heterosexualcouples. Patterson(1995), in a studyof lesbianparents,finds thatpartnersreportan equal sharingof householdtasks, althoughbiological mothersspendmoretime on childcarethantheirpartners. These studies suggest that the division of household laborreflects gender to some extent but thatthereare also relationaldynamicsat work. Thatis, both genderandmaritalstatusarerelatedto houseworktime.

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310 SHELTON& JOHN

RACEAND ETHNICITY Race andethnicityareoften used as independentvariablesinresearchonhouseholdlabor,althoughfew studiesfocus onracialorethnic differencesin the divisionof householdlabor,andthosethatdo yield mixed results. Some studies, for example, conclude thatAfrican-Americanfamilies aremoreegalitarianin theirdivisionof householdlaborthanarewhitefamilies becauseAfrican-Americanmen do a largerproportionof householdlaborthan white men do (Ross 1987) or spendmoretime on houseworkthanwhite men (Beckett & Smith 1981, Shelton & John 1993b). However,otherresearchers arguethatthe divisionof laborin theAfrican-Americanfamilyis similarto that of white families: genderedandunequal(Broman1988, 1991, Cronkite1977, Hossain & Roopnarine1993, Wilson et al 1990). In an examinationof attitudesaboutthe division of labor,Cronkite(1977) findsthatAfrican-American women andmen aremorelikely to thinkthatwomenshouldbe responsiblefor houseworkthanarewhitewomenandmen. Brines(1993) reportsthatAfricanAmericanwomen spend less time on houseworkthanwhite women (see also Beckett& Smith 1981, Maret& Finlay 1984), butShelton& John(1993a) find no raceeffect for women. Wives' employmentstatusappearsto be unrelatedto African-Americanmen's houseworktime (Orbuch& Custer1995). Paidwork may have differentmeaningsfor African-Americansthanfor whites, given the long historyof high laborforce participationby African-Americanwomen and the economic marginalizationof African-Americanmen.

Even less is knownaboutthe divisionof householdlaborin Hispanichouseholds. Golding (1990) finds that the division of labor in Mexican-American families is moretraditionalthanin Anglo families butarguesthateducationis the determiningfactor. Ybarra(1982) arguesthatit is women's employment thatdeterminesthe divisionof householdlaborin Chicanofamilies, with dualearnerfamilies exhibitinga moreegalitariandivision of laborthantraditional male providerfamilies. Mirande's(1979) conclusionsaresimilarto those from most studies on African-Americanfamilies in thathe suggests thatMexicanAmerican households may appearto be more egalitarianin the division of householdlaborthanotherhouseholds,butthattheyarefarfromdividinglabor equally.

Comparativestudies provide insight into the variationof household labor acrosscultures. SeveralstudiesindicatethatJapanesemen spendless time on household labor than do men of othercountries,includingthe United States (Juster& Stafford1991, Kamo 1994). Sanchez (1994a) notes thatSouth Koreanhusbandsare more likely to regularlysharein householdlaborthanUS, Taiwanese,Javanese,Sudanese,Indonesian,or Philippinehusbands. Lapidus (1988) finds that Soviet women devote a largerpercentageof their time to householdlaborthando Soviet men (see also Juster& Stafford1991).

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THE DIVISIONOF HOUSEHOLDLABOR 311

CONTRIBUTIONSOFOTHERS There are an increasingnumberof studies that focus on the householdlabortime of childrenand the contributionschildren make to family labor. Most researchersagree that althoughmany children do some householdlabor,theirparticipationis typically occasional and their time investmentsmall (Bird & Ratcliff 1990, Cogle & Tasker1982, Demo & Acock 1993), althoughsome researcherssuggest thatchildren'scontributions are significant(Blair 1992a, Peters & Haldeman1987). It is clear, however, thatchildren'shouseholdlaborvariesby familytype,parents'sex-roleideology, mothers'employmentstatus,and age and sex of the child. In addition,Spitze

&Ward(1995) find that African-Americanadultchildrenliving at home do morehouseworkthando white adultchildrenliving at home.

Many studies conclude that children'shousehold labor is sex-typed in the same way thatadulttasksarepatterned(Blair 1992a,b;Burns& Homel 1989; Cogle & Tasker1982;White&Brinkerhoff1981),althoughHilton& Haldeman (1991) foundthatchildren'shouseholdlaboris less sex segregatedthanthatof adults.A numberof studiesalso suggestthatgirls aremorelikely to participate in household labor and/or spend more time on houseworkthan boys (Blair 1992b,Bloch 1987, McHaleet al 1990), especially amongadolescents(White

&Brinkerhoff1981), adult children(Spitze & Ward 1995) or when sibling groupsareof mixed sexes (Brody& Steelman1985). Berk& Berk(1978) find thatin householdswheretherearefemale childrenbetweenthe ages of 16 and 20, children'sproportionof householdlaboris higherthanin householdswith youngerchildren(see also Bird& Ratcliff 1990), butthathavingboys between 16 and20 is not associatedwith any increasein children'shouseworktime.

Severalstudiesexaminechildren'shouseworkby family type, althoughthe classificationof householdtypes variesamong the studies, thus makingcomparisonsdifficult. Forexample,Demo &Acock (1993) evaluatethevariationin children'shouseworktimeamonga varietyof householdtypesandfindthatchildrenin householdsof divorcedpeople spendmoretime on houseworkthando childrenin othertypes of families,with childrenliving in first-marriagehouse- holds doing the least housework.Otherstudiessuggest thatchildrenin singleparenthouseholdsdo less houseworkthanchildrenin two-parenthouseholds (Hilton& Haldeman1991,Peters& Haldeman1987,Weisneret al 1994). Grief (1985) findsthatchildrensharemoreof thehouseworkin single fatherfamilies withonly femalechildrenthanin single fatherfamilieswithonly malechildren.

A numberof studiesfind an associationbetweenmother'semploymentstatus and children'shousehold labor participation. Some researchersfind that women'spaidworkhoursarepositivelyassociatedwithchildren'sproportional shareof houseworkin dual-earnerhouseholds(Blair 1992a)or with daughters' time spent on housework(Blair 1992b), perhapspartiallyaccountingfor the

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weak associationbetween women's employmentandhusbands'householdlabortime. Benin & Edwards(1990) findthatboys in dual-earnerfamilies with motherswho are employed full-time spend less time on houseworkthan do boys in single-earnerfamilies, althoughthe oppositeis truefor girls.

Houseworkand the Social Constructionof Gender

Recently, scholars who study the division of household labor have begun to evaluateits symboliccontentto understandwhy womenremainresponsiblefor themajorityof housework(Brines1994,Ferree1990;see Pestello& Voydanoff 1991 for a similardiscussionof thesocial productionof family). Thisapproach identifiesgenderas somethingthatis createdandrecreatedin interactionwith others (FenstermakerBerk 1985, Potuchek 1992, West & Zimmerman1987) and as such, this approachprovides a way to understandthe overridingimportance of gender in determininghousehold labor time by conceptualizing houseworkas a resourcethroughwhichwomenandmen display(Brines 1994) or producegender.

Scholarswhoregardgenderasa socialconstruction(Fenstermakeret al 1991, Lorber 1986) arguethat houseworkproducesboth householdgoods and services andgender. Thus, what appearsto be an irrationalarrangement(if only householdgoods areproduced)becomes rationalbecausegenderis one of the productsof thedivisionof labor.Women'stime spenton houseworkandmen's general avoidanceof it produce,and sometimes transform,gender (Coltrane 1989, Connell 1985, DeVault 1991, Hochschild 1989, West & Fenstermaker 1993). Hochschild's(1989) studyrevealshow womenandmen may view their houseworkas an expressionof their gender,while DeVault(1991) illustrates women's attemptsto think of houseworkas nurturanceand love ratherthan work. Thus, a social constructionistapproachnot only offers a framework within which the division of householdlaborcan be understood,it also challenges some of the basic assumptionsof otherapproachesto understandingthe division of householdlabor. For example, Brines (1993, 1994) arguesthat a genderdisplaymodel is supportedby her analysis. Such a model can account for the nonlinearassociation between economic dependenceand men's and women's houseworktime, as well as for the genderdifferencesin the effects of economic dependenceon houseworktime. Recent work on the social productionof race,ethnicity,and/orsocial class offersinsightsinto how they may also be "produced"interactionally(Hurtado1989,West& Fenstermaker1995) and, one could argue,throughhousework.

Perceptionsof Housework

Those studiesthataddressthe issue of perceptionsof fairnesscanbe classified as focusing on ideological or materialistexplanations(Lennon & Rosenfield

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THEDIVISIONOFHOUSEHOLDLABOR 313

1994). Thompson(1991) arguesthatideologicalfactorsdetermineperceptions of fairness. She arguesthatwomenwill perceivethedivisionof householdlabor as unfaironly if they wanttheirhusbandsto performmore housework,if they comparetheir husband'shouseworktime to someone who spends more time on housework,andif they do not see anyjustificationfor the unequaldivision of housework. If women wanttheirhusbandsto spend some minimalamount of time on houseworkand have no expectationthattheirhouseworktime will be equal,theywill notnecessarilyview anunequaldivisionof householdlabor as unfair(Benin & Agostinelli 1988, Thompson 1991). Moreover,if women comparetheirhouseworktime to otherwomen's,ratherthanto theirhusband's time,theymayview anunequaldivisionof householdlaboras fair(Major1994, Thompson 1991). Finally, if women see acceptablereasons for the unequal division of householdlabor,they will not view it as unfair(Thompson1991), althoughthejustificationsviewed as acceptablemay varyby gender(LaRossa

&LaRossa 1981, McKee 1982).

Lennon& Rosenfield(1994) contendthatexchangetheorycan best explain

perceptionsof fairness;the more power and resourcesa person has the more likely he or she is to view an unequaldivision of household labor as unfair. They findonly partialsupportfor theirhypothesis. They findthatwomen who would fall into poverty should they have to rely on only their own earnings are less likely to view the division of householdlaboras unfair,althoughthey find no association between contributionto household earningsand perceptions of fairness(see also Johnet al 1995 and Major 1987 aboutcomparison referents).

Inresearchevaluatingtheassociationbetweenthedivisionof householdlabor and perceptionsof fairness,findingsareinconsistent. Blair & Johnson(1992) reportthatmen's time spent on female-typedhouseholdtasks is the strongest predictorof women's perceptionsof fairness(see also Acock & Demo 1994, Benin & Agostinelli 1988), while Lennon & Rosenfield (1994) find that it is men's proportionalshareof female-typedtasks. In similarresearch,Sanchez (1994b) and Johnet al (1995) find thatmen's houseworktime is significantly associatedwith women's andmen's perceptionsof fairness. Otherdifferences emergewhen comparingwhatdivisionof householdlabormen andwomenare most likely to view as fair. Benin & Agostinelli (1988) arguethatwomen want a division of household laborthatfavorsthem, and they want theirhusbands to spendtime on traditionallyfemale chores. Men, on the otherhand,favoran equitabledivision of householdlaborbut want to keep theirhouseworkhours few. In contrast,John et al (1995) reportthatboth women and men are less likelyto view thedivisionof householdlaborasunfairasthemen'sproportional shareof female-typedtasks increases.

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Thompson's(1991) argumentthat ideological factorsaffect perceptionsof fairnessmay partiallyaccountfor the inconsistentfindingswith respectto the relationshipbetweenthedivisionof householdlaborandperceptionsof fairness. In addition, furtherexaminationof the exchange approachto understanding perceptionsof fairnessis necessary,especiallyanalysesevaluatingvariousways to measureresources.

CONSEQUENCESOF THEDIVISIONOF HOUSEHOLD LABOR

Ratherthanfocusingon explainingthedivisionof householdlabor,a numberof studiesexaminehow women'sand/ormen'shouseworktime affectstheirlabor force participation,earnings, and marital/familysatisfaction. This research evaluatesthe consequencesof the division of household labor,sometimes to providesupportfor theirargumentthatit needs to be changed.

LaborForceParticipationand Wages

The researchon the relationshipbetweenhouseholdlabortime andlaborforce participationis complicated by questions about the possible reciprocal nature of the relationship,although Kalleberg& Rosenfeld (1990) reportthat for women in the United States paid labor time affects houseworktime, but that women's houseworktime has no effect on paid work time. The association between women's houseworktime and their paid labor time may partially accountfor women's loweraverageearnings,butsome studiesshow that time spent on houseworkhas a direct, negative effect on women's earnings (Coverman 1983, Hersch 1985, 1991, Hersch & Stratton1994, McAllister 1990, Shelton & Firestone 1988), althoughonly a few find thatmen's houseworktime negativelyaffectstheirearnings(Coverman1983,McAllister 1990). Hersch(1991) arguesthatthelackof anyassociationbetweenmen'shousework time and theirearningsmay be becausethe negativeeffect of houseworktime on earningsoccursat a higherlevel of houseworkthanmenperformor thatthe types of householdtasks women and men performare differentand interfere with workdifferently.

Neoclassical economists like Becker (1985) arguethatthe relationshipbetween householdlabortime andearningsreflectsdifferencesin effort (Hersch 1991) as well as differencesin humancapitalinvestments. Thatis, women's time spenton houseworkreducestheenergythey haveto expendat paidwork, andthey investless in humancapitalbecausethey expect to spendless time in paid work (see England& McCreary1987 for a discussion). Bielby & Bielby (1988) argue,in contrast,thatwomen expendmoreefforton theirjobs in spite of theirgreaterresponsibilityfor householdlabor.

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THEDIVISIONOFHOUSEHOLDLABOR 315

Marital/FamilySatisfactionand Psychological Well-Being

A numberof researchershaveexaminedtheeffect of householdlaboron marital or family satisfactionand psychological well-being (Hawkinset al 1994, Lye & Biblarz1993, Pina& Bengston 1993, Yogev& Brett1985). Generally,these studies have found thatwomen's maritalsatisfactionis higherwhen they feel theirhusbandsdo their"fairshare"of housework,butfew find any consistent relationshipbetween the division of household laborand maritalsatisfaction (Blair 1993, Perry-Jenkins& Folk 1994, Robinson & Spitze 1992, Yogev & Brett 1985). Pina & Bengston (1993) find that the effect of the division of household labor on various measures of maritalsatisfactionis mediated by perceptionsof how fairly houseworkis divided, with not all women viewing an unequaldivision of household laboras unfair. Similarly,Erickson(1993) finds thatmen's participationin "emotionwork"is positively associatedwith maritalwell-beingandthathouseworkis notassociatedwithmaritalwell-being when emotion work is included in the model (see also Broman 1993, Ward 1993).

Some research suggests that men's maritalhappiness is affected by their houseworktime, but not by theirperceptionsof fairness (perhapsbecause so few men view the division of household labor as unfairto themselves), but the effects are modest (Robinson& Spitze 1992). Robinson& Spitze (1992) find that men reporthigher maritalhappinesswhen they spend less time on housework,but thatmen's proportionalshareof houseworkis not significant (see also Orbuch& Custer1993). In contrast,Yogev& Brett(1985) reportthat men'smaritalsatisfactionis highestformenwhentheydo whattheyconsiderto be their"fairshare."Broman(1988) findsthatAfrican-Americanmen's family satisfactionis affectedby theirhouseworktime, with men who reportthatthey do most of the houseworkalso reportinglower family satisfactionthan men who do a smallershareof housework.

Several studies examine the relationshipbetween houseworkand conflict. Lye & Biblarz(1993) findthatwomen's householdlabortime is positively associated with both women's andmen's reportsof disagreements,while PerryJenkins& Folk (1994) findthatamong dual-earnercouples, women's proportional shareof female-typedtasks is positively associatedwith theirreportsof maritalconflict only among workingclass couples, and with men's reportsof conflictamongworkingclass couples or couples wherethe husbandis middle class andthe wife is workingclass. Blair (1993) findsno associationbetween women's time spent on female-typedhousehold tasks and reportsof marital conflict,buta significantandpositive associationfor men. Each of the studies of maritalconflict uses the 1988 NSFH, so the inconsistentresultsshould not reflect differencesin data sets. In this case, researchershave quite different

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316 SHELTON&JOHN

models, especially with respectto theirmeasuresof houseworktime. PerryJenkins& Folk (1994) use proportionalmeasuresof female-typedtasks, while Blair(1993) uses anabsolutemeasureof female-typedtasksandLye & Biblarz (1993) use an absolutemeasureof totalhousework.

A numberof studies find that women's time spent on houseworkand an unequal division of household labor are positively associated with women's depression(Glass & Fujimoto 1994, Golding 1990, Kurdek1993, Ross et al 1983, Shamir 1986), although some arguethat the effect is indirectthrough housework'simpact on household strain (Golding 1990). Bird & Fremont (1991) find that household laboris negatively associatedwith both women's and men's health and conclude thatthe greatertime women spend on housework is a significant contributorto their higher rates of morbidity(see also Shehan 1984). Several studies that examine full-time housewives find that women who are dissatisfiedwith housework(e.g. find it boring, isolating) are more likely to be depressedthan women who are not dissatisfied(Kibria et al 1990, Krause1983). However,Bird & Ross (1993) find thathousework is viewed as offeringmore autonomythanpaid work, butthatit is associated with a lower sense of controloverone's life thanis paidwork[althoughShehan (1984) finds thathousewives are no more likely thanemployed women to be depressed].

Rosenfield(1992) findsthathusbandswho sharehouseholdlaborreportfeeling more "demoralized,""sad,""anxious"and "helpless/hopeless"than men with a moretraditionaldivision of labor(see also Glass & Fujimoto1994), althougha numberof otherstudiesfindno associationbetweenmen'shousework roles and psychological well-being (Golding 1990, Orbuch& Custer 1995, Ross et al 1983, Shamir 1986). Kurdek(1993) arguesthat household labor is negativelyassociatedwith depressionfor women in same-sex relationships but positively associatedwith marriedwomen's depressionbecause of housework's symbolic character. Women in same-sex relationshipsmay feel that theirparticipationin houseworkis by choice, while marriedwomen may feel obligated to do housework,a differencethat may account for differences in its association with psychological well-being. Using similarlogic, Szinovacz (1992) suggests that men's adjustmentto retirementmay be associated with houseworkif theirparticipationin houseworkis viewed as evidence thatthey are good husbands,or if it provides a source of activity for those men who are unable to participatein other activities (i.e. due to disability,etc). She also finds thathouseworkis positively associatedwith women's adjustmentto retirement,arguingthat with the onset of retirement,women's "doubleburden"is removed,allowing women to "enjoy"housework(see also Kibriaet al 1990).

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THE DIVISIONOF HOUSEHOLDLABOR 317

CONCLUSIONS

The burgeoningbody of researchon the division of householdlaboris cumulative in some respects,butnot as muchas it shouldbe. We know thatrelative resources,time constraints,andideology affectthedivisionof householdlabor, but not always as expected. Most notably,genderremainsa more important determinantof houseworktimethananyotherfactor.The argumentthatgender as well as householdutilities areproducedby houseworknot only challenges the logic behindthe relativeresourcesandtime constraintsperspectives,it has the potentialto move the researchon houseworkin a directionthat may allow us to understandit better. Especially since most women (and men) do not view the division of householdlaboras unfair,we shouldbegin to address more systematicallywhat variedpurposeshouseworkmay serve. If we take the insights offeredby social constructionistsandreevaluateour approachto studyinghouseholdlabor,andavoidusing it to formulatejust anothervariable to addto existing models, we may yet achievebetterunderstandingof why the division of householdlaboris slow to change.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank Rimma Ashkinadze, CarrieConaway,Nena Davis, SarahHolzman,Julie Jackson,Diane Jones, and Molly Moloney for research assistance. Ben Agger and Paula England gave useful comments. Partial supportfor this researchwas providedby OberlinCollege.

Any Annual Review chapter, as well as any article cited in an Annual Review chapter, may be purchased from the Annual Reviews Preprints and Reprints service.

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