Study Links Man's Occupation to Time Spent on Housework

A latest study finds an association between a man's occupation and the amount of time he spends on housework.

The latest study conducted by Elizabeth Aura McClintock, a sociologist at the university of Notre Dame, states that the division of household chores between men and women depends on what the man does for his living.

The study  "Gender-Atypical Occupations and Time Spent on Housework: Doing Gender or Doing Chores?," reveals that married or cohabiting men who have taken up female occupations such as teaching, childcare or nursing, tend to spend more time in household work compared to those men who have taken up traditional male jobs.

Apart from this, the wives or partners of men who take up female occupations, spend less amount of time in household work compared to wives of men who are in traditional male jobs.

For this study, the researcher examined data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics that was done from 1981-2009. The researcher found that when married or cohabiting women take up traditional female jobs they spend more time on household work when compared to  women who take up heavy male occupations. And their partners or husbands spend less time in such activity.

"Importantly, occupational sex composition is largely unrelated to housework for single men or women, suggesting that occupation influences housework through interactions and negotiations between romantic partners," says McClintock.

The study will be presented at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.