CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 122Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsWork-Family Balance ChallengesFamily Dynamics and Relationships

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 3 of the 3 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

What Are Men Doing while Women Perform Extra Unpaid Labor? Leisure and Specialization at the Transitions to Parenthood

Open access
Kamp Dush, Claire M., Yavorsky, Jill E., Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.·2018·Sex Roles
DOI 10.1007/s11199-017-0841-0PMC PMC6044284
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Marriage has significantly changed since Becker proposed his specialization model yet some scholars maintain that specialization characterizes modern couples. Specialization occurs when one partner, traditionally the man, concentrates on market work while the other partner, traditionally the woman, focuses on nonmarket work such as housework or childcare. Using innovative time diary data from primarily highly-educated, White, dual-earner U.S. couples, we examine how couples manage their time in market and household work and leisure across a momentous, gendered life course turning point-the transition to parenthood. We find little evidence of specialization, but stronger evidence of nonspecialization where both partners concurrently engaged in market work or leisure. Yet gender still mattered. Men enjoyed more leisure time, particularly on nonworkdays, whereas their partners performed more nonmarket work. Our study is the first known to uncover exactly what men were doing while women performed additional minutes of housework and childcare. On nonworkdays, fathers engaged in leisure 47% and 35% of the time during which mothers performed childcare and routine housework, respectively. Mothers engaged in leisure only about 16% to 19% of the time that fathers performed childcare and routine housework. In sum, although our study challenges economic theories of specialization by showing that nonspecialization is the norm for new parents' time among highly-educated, dual-earner couples, persistent gender inequalities continue to characterize family work and leisure time.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s11199-017-0841-0

Cites

3 of 3 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Show all 3 references

Research works printed but not linked: 63

  1. Allison, P. D. (2009). Fixed effects regression models (Vol. 160). Thousand Okas: Sage Publications. · DOI · Paper page
  2. Alon, S., & Haberfeld, Y. (2007). Labor force attachment and the evolving wage gap between white, black, and Hispanic young women. Work and Occupations, 34(4), 369–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888407307247 . · DOI
  3. Anxo, D., Mencarini, L., Pailhé, A., Solaz, A., Tanturri, M. L., & Flood, L. (2011). Gender differences in time use over the life course in France, Italy, Sweden, and the U.S. Feminist Economics, 17(3), 159–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2011.582822 . · DOI
  4. Armstrong, K., & Edwards, H. (2003). The effects of exercise and social support on mothers reporting depressive symptoms: A pilot randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 12(2), 130–138. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-0979.2003.00229.x . · DOI · Paper page
  5. Baker, M. J., & Jacobsen, J. P. (2007). Marriage, specialization, and the gender division of labor. Journal of Labor Economics, 25(4), 763–793. https://doi.org/10.1086/522907 . · DOI
  6. Becker, G. S. (1981). A treatise on the family. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  7. Berk, S. F. (1985). The gender factory: The apportionment of work in American households. New York: Plenum Press. · DOI
  8. Bianchi, S. M. (2000). Maternal employment and time with children: Dramatic change or surprising continuity? Demography, 37(4), 401–414. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2000.0001 . · DOI
  9. Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in the gender division of household labor. Social Forces, 79(1), 191–228. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/79.1.191 . · DOI
  10. Bianchi, S. M., Robinson, J. P., & Milkie, M. A. (2006). Changing rhythms of American family life. New York: Russell Sage.
  11. Bianchi, S. M., Sayer, L. C., Milkie, M. A., & Robinson, J. P. (2012). Housework: Who did, does or will do it, and how much does it matter? Social Forces, 91(1), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sos120 . · DOI
  12. Bittman, M., & Wajcman, J. (2000). The rush hour: The character of leisure time and gender equity. Social Forces, 79(1), 165–189. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/79.1.165 . · DOI
  13. Bittman, M., England, P., Sayer, L., Folbre, N., & Matheson, G. (2003). When does gender trump money? Bargaining and time in household work. American Journal of Sociology, 109(1), 186–214. https://doi.org/10.1086/378341 . · DOI
  14. Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2013). Female labor supply: Why is the United States falling behind? The American Economic Review, 103(3), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.3.251 . · DOI
  15. Claffey, S. T., & Mickelson, K. D. (2009). Division of household labor and distress: The role of perceived fairness for employed mothers. Sex Roles, 60(11), 819–831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9578-0 . · DOI
  16. Clawson, D., & Gerstel, N. (2014). Unequal time: Gender, class, and family in employment schedules. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
  17. Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155 . · DOI · Paper page
  18. Connelly, R., & Kimmel, J. (2009). Spousal influences on parents’ non-market time choices. Review of Economics of the Household, 7(4), 361–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-009-9060-y . · DOI
  19. Corrigall, E. A., & Konrad, A. M. (2007). Gender role attitudes and careers: A longitudinal study. Sex Roles, 56(11–12), 847–855. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9242-0 . · DOI
  20. Cunningham, M. (2008). Changing attitudes toward the male breadwinner, female homemaker family model: Influences of women's employment and education over the lifecourse. Social Forces, 87(1), 299–323. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0097 . · DOI
  21. Diprete, T. A., & Buchmann, C. (2013). The rise of women: The growing gender gap in education and what it means for American schools. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
  22. Donnelly, K., Twenge, J. M., Clark, M. A., Shaikh, S. K., Beiler-May, A., & Carter, N. T. (2015). Attitudes toward women’s work and family roles in the United States, 1976–2013. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40, 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315590774 . · DOI
  23. England, P. (2010). The gender revolution: Uneven and stalled. Gender & Society, 24(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210361475 . · DOI · Paper page
  24. England, P., Budig, M., & Folbre, N. (2002). Wages of virtue: The relative pay of care work. Social Problems, 49, 455–473. · DOI
  25. Frisco, M. L., & Williams, K. (2003). Perceived housework equity, marital happiness, and divorce in dual-earner households. Journal of Family Issues, 24(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X02238520 . · DOI
  26. Gerson, K. (2010). The unfinished revolution: How a new generation is reshaping family, work, and gender in America. New York: Oxford University Press.
  27. Gjerdingen, D. K., & Center, B. A. (2005). First-time parents' postpartum changes in employment, childcare, and housework responsibilities. Social Science Research, 34(1), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2003.11.005 . · DOI
  28. Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of motherhood. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  29. Hudson, D. B., Elek, S. M., & Fleck, M. O. (2001). First-time mothers' and fathers' transition to parenthood: Infant care self-efficacy, parenting satisfaction, and infant sex. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 24(1), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/014608601300035580 . · DOI
  30. Johnson, D. (2005). Two-wave panel analysis: Comparing statistical methods for studying the effects of transitions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(4), 1061–1075. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00194.x . · DOI
  31. Kalleberg, A. L. (2013). Good jobs, bad jobs: The rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United States 1970s to 2000s. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
  32. Katz, E. (1997). The intra-household economics of voice and exit. Feminist Economics, 3(3), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457097338645 . · DOI
  33. Kotila, L. E., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2015). Integrating sociological and psychological perspectives on coparenting. Sociology Compass, 9(8), 731–744. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12285 . · DOI
  34. Kotila, L. E., Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., & Kamp Dush, C. M. (2013). Time in parenting activities in dual-earner families at the transition to parenthood. Family Relations, 62(5), 795–807. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12037 . · DOI
  35. Larson-Meyer, D. E. (2002). Effect of postpartum exercise on mothers and their offspring: A review of the literature. Obesity Research, 10(8), 841–853. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2002.114 . · DOI
  36. Lee, Y.-S., & Waite, L. J. (2005). Husbands’ and wives’ time spent on housework: A comparison of measures. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(2), 328–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2005.00119.x . · DOI
  37. Lundberg, S. (2005). The division of labor by new parents: Does child gender matter? (ID 826445). Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=826445files/2123/papers.html .
  38. Manning, W. D., Brown, S. L., & Payne, K. K. (2014). Two decades of stability and change in age at first union formation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(2), 247–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12090 . · DOI
  39. Mattingly, M. J., & Bianchi, S. M. (2003). Gender differences in the quantity and quality of free time: The U.S. experience. Social Forces, 81(3), 999–1030. · DOI
  40. Maume, D. J. (2015). Can men make time for family? Paid work, care work, work-family reconciliation policies, and gender equality. Social Currents, 3, 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496515620647 . · DOI
  41. McGill, B. S. (2014). Navigating new norms of involved fatherhood: Employment, fathering attitudes, and father involvement. Journal of Family Issues, 35(8), 1089–1106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x14522247 . · DOI
  42. McQuillan, J., Greil, A. L., Shreffler, K. M., & Tichenor, V. (2008). The importance of motherhood among women in the contemporary United States. Gender & Society, 22(4), 477–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243208319359 . · DOI
  43. Milkie, M. A., Bianchi, S. M., Mattingly, M. J., & Robinson, J. P. (2002). Gendered division of childrearing: Ideals, realities, and the relationship to parental well-being. Sex Roles, 47(1–2), 21–38. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020627602889 . · DOI
  44. Milkie, M. A., Raley, S. B., & Bianchi, S. M. (2009). Taking on the second shift: Time allocations and time pressures of U.S. parents with preschoolers. Social Forces, 88(2), 487–517. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0268 . · DOI
  45. Nomaguchi, K. M., Milkie, M. A., & Bianchi, S. M. (2005). Time strains and psychological well-being. Journal of Family Issues, 26(6), 756–792. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X05277524 . · DOI
  46. Offer, S. (2016). Free time and emotional well-being do dual-earner mothers and fathers differ? Gender & Society, 30(2), 213–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243215596422 . · DOI
  47. Pedulla, D. S., & Thébaud, S. (2015). Can we finish the revolution? Gender, work-family ideals, and institutional constraint. American Sociological Review, 80(1), 116–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414564008 . · DOI
  48. Press, J. E., & Townsley, E. (1998). Wives' and husbands' housework reporting: Gender, class, and social desirability. Gender & Society, 12(2), 188–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124398012002005 . · DOI
  49. Reimers, C. W. (1985). Cultural differences in labor force participation among married women. The American Economic Review, 75(2), 251–255.
  50. Ridgeway, C., & Correll, S. (2006). Consensus and the creation of status beliefs. Social Forces, 85(1), 431–453. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0139 . · DOI
  51. Robinson, J., & Godbey, G. (2010). Time for life: The surprising ways Americans use their time. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
  52. Sanchez, L., & Thomson, E. (1997). Becoming mothers and fathers parenthood, gender, and the division of labor. Gender & Society, 11(6), 747–772. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124397011006003 . · DOI
  53. Sayer, L. C. (2005). Gender, time and inequality: Trends in women's and men's paid work, unpaid work and free time. Social Forces, 84(1), 285–303. https://doi.org/10.2307/3598304 . · DOI
  54. Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Altenburger, L. E., Lee, M. A., Bower, D. J., & Kamp Dush, C. M. (2015). Who are the gatekeepers? Predictors of maternal gatekeeping behavior. Parenting: Science and Practice, 15, 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2015.1053321 . · DOI
  55. Schwartz, C. R., & Mare, R. D. (2005). Trends in educational assortative marriage from 1940 to 2003. Demography, 42(4), 621–646. https://doi.org/10.2307/4147332 . · DOI
  56. Speakman, S., & Marchington, M. (1999). Ambivalent patriarchs: Shiftworkers, `breadwinners' and housework. Work, Employment & Society, 13(1), 83–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500179922117809 . · DOI
  57. Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2007). Marriage and divorce: Changes and their driving forces. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(2), 27–52. · DOI
  58. Strazdins, L., & Broom, D. H. (2004). Acts of love (and work). Journal of Family Issues, 25(3), 356–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X03257413 . · DOI
  59. Thébaud, S. (2010). Masculinity, bargaining, and breadwinning: Understanding men’s housework in the cultural context of paid work. Gender & Society, 24(3), 330–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210369105 . · DOI
  60. Waldfogel, J. (1998). Understanding the "family gap" in pay for women with children. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.2307/2646943 . · DOI
  61. Xie, Y., Raymo, J. M., Goyette, K., & Arland, T. (2003). Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation. Demography, 40(2), 351–367. https://doi.org/10.2307/3180805 . · DOI
  62. Yavorsky, J. E., Kamp Dush, C. M., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2015). The production of inequality: The gender dvision of labor across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3), 662–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12189 . · DOI
  63. Yoshida, A. (2012). Dads who do diapers: Factors affecting care of young children by fathers. Journal of Family Issues, 33(4), 451–477. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X11415358 . · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Kamp Dush, C. M., Yavorsky, J. E., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J.
Affiliations
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (US)
ORCID
Yavorsky, Jill E.
Venue
Sex Roles
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-10-03
Volume
78
Issue
11-12
Pages
715-730
ISSN
  • 0360-0025 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2762
DOI
10.1007/s11199-017-0841-0
PMC
PMC6044284
OpenAlex
W2762965826
Cited by
122
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 3
FWCI
15.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Sex Roles (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1K01HD056238, R24 HD058484)
  • National Science Foundation (CAREER 0746548)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords
division of household labor, gender specialization, transition to parenthood, child care, housework, dual-earner couples, time use, time diary data

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review