Who’s bathing the baby? The division of domestic labour in Sweden
Jan E Thomas
Department of Sociology, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio United States of America
Ingegerd Hildingsson
Department of Health Science, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall; Department of Women and Child Health, Karolinska Insitutet, Stockholm Sweden
PP: 139 - 152
Abstract
In Sweden the government has enacted specific policies, such as generous parental leave, to encourage couples to share in both economic and domestic labour.
Using data from a national survey of Swedish women 1 year after childbirth, we assess whether the division of labour varies depending on women's parental leave status, education or number of children. We move beyond the most common measures of domestic labour (housework) and include several measures of daily child-care tasks.
Our findings indicate that men share fairly equally only if their partner has returned to work full-time. This pattern remained regardless of women's level of education and number of children. We suggest that parental leave policies are necessary but not sufficient tools for encouraging gender equity at home.
Keywords
parental leave, household labour, gender inequality, marital satisfaction, Sweden
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