Gender Wage Gap and the Involvement of Partners in Household Work

Despite a lot of attention given to the issue, women still earn less than men and perform most of the around-the-house duties. Studies show that there is a correlation between women who do a greater share of domestic work and earning less through paid work.?

A fascinating study published by WES – Work, Employment and Society theorises a negative relationship between wages earned and housework undertaken. The study mentions that women seem not to profit from their partners’ housework, but men do profit when it’s the other way round. This suggests it’s important for women to reduce their involvement in domestic work to achieve a reduction in the gender wage gap.?

The report describes an interesting symptom of the ‘cross-partner’ effect, where men usually progress their earnings from having a non-working wife.? But in reverse, the wife does not necessarily progress while having a non-working husband.?

Even though women are now doing more paid work and less housework, and men likewise are doing more housework including spending more time with the children, women still do the bulk of the housework, affecting their overall employment and economic situation.?

These effects include things like limited energy, where more work at home means less energy available for work.? This ‘fatigue’ is increased through the emotional burdens associated with coping with a ‘double day’.??

Women handling a high housework load also have less time for additional job activities such as training, and family responsibilities can also constrain a potentially continuous employment career.? Ultimately, individuals in this position opt for less demanding, more flexible jobs that unsurprisingly usually pay lower wages. To cap this off, high involvement in domestic activities might signal low work commitment and productivity to employers, leading to lower wage roles being offered.?

Partners influence each other’s employment, depending on how they view each other in terms of their housework/career roles in the relationship. The theory goes that men’s earnings benefit from having a non-working wife and their earnings can decrease as their wives increase their own careers.??

Partners can have a ‘reciprocal influence’ where contributions in the house would reduce the effort that the other partner would need to exert at home, providing more time and effort to invest in outside work. That kind of support could allow partners to take advantage of better job opportunities or opt for more demanding jobs, with subsequent positive effects on their careers and earnings progression.?

Inequitable outcomes can be a product of how deeply the traditional view of male and female roles is held, and these attitudes are not just a case of men thinking one way and women the other. For example, men with less traditional attitudes are more involved in the home and more supportive of their partner's careers, whereas women with traditional views consider even an unequal division of housework to be fair. This highlights the importance of not only helping balance the home workload but also providing support which can help address out-of-date traditional views. A collaborative partner can go a long way towards achieving a more equal division of housework and in so doing, ultimately lowering the earnings gap.?

This report goes a lot deeper into exploring the function of housework, attitudes, partner support and how this may affect the wage gap. ?

To conclude, things work better when both parties have worked through and agreed on the balance that best suits them.? Overall, a more equitable division of housework and agreed levels of inter-partner support can positively impact the earnings gap. ?

The variables are quite complex, but it is interesting to note how these are linked to women’s careers and earning prospects.?

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Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0950017020937936