DYADIC ANALYSES OF THEDIVISION OF DOMESTIC LABOR:COMPETENCES,PREFERENCES
AND MEN’S GOODWILL
Abstract
The persistence of a distinctly gendered division of domestic labor in
Western societies remains puzzling. Beyond standard economic and
normative explanations, more recent approaches emphasize affective,
cognitive, and incorporated aspects of housework and the production,
reproduction, and negotiation of gendered expectations via social
interactions. However, the relevant indicators for these more implicit
mechanisms are not routinely included in social surveys. Based on a
unique set of items and a representative sample of heterosexual couples
(N=1,396) from pairfam data (German Family Panel) (wave 10), we
contribute to this research by analyzing the mutual effects of both
partners’ enjoyment, quality standards, and reciprocally perceived
competencies on the division of domestic labor. An actor-partner
interdependence model (APIM) is applied, which is adequate
methodologically to model the partner dyad. Both an actor’s own and
their partner’s assessments of competences and preferences – and
particularly men’s attributes and perceptions – prove to be powerful
and statistically significant predictors of the division of domestic
labor. The results contribute quantitative evidence on processes of
doing and undoing gender in context.