SLIDE 1
‘Til work do us part? – Domestic relationships in extended working life households
Nathan Hudson-Sharp (NIESR) Andreas Cebulla (NIESR, University of Adelaide) Lucy Stokes (NIESR) David Wilkinson (University College London)
SLIDE 2 ‘Til work do us part? – Domestic relationships in extended working life households
1. Background Literature
- National and comparative studies on domestic divisions of labour (DDL)
2. Our research on DDL in extending working life households in the UK.
- Panel Data: Understanding Society.
- Persistence of gender inequality in the DDL in EWL.
3. Policy implications
SLIDE 3
Extending Working Lives: A Household Issue
Policy debate largely frames the issue of retirement in terms of individual decision-making (Loretto and Vickerstaff, 2013) In 2017, of the population aged 16 years and over, 61.4% were living as a couple in England and Wales (ONS, 2017)
17% 9% 5% 4% 65%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Not living in a couple: Previously married or civil partnered Not living in a couple: Never married or civil partnered Living in a couple: Cohabiting- previously married or civil partnered Living in a couple: Cohabiting - never married or civil partnered Living in a couple: Married or civil partnered
% of people aged 55-64 by living arrangement
Source: (ONS, 2017)
SLIDE 4
Housework: A Policy Issue?
Austria: Spitzer and Hammer (2016) Italy: Campolo et al. (2016) Germany: Leopold and Skopek (2015; 2016; 2018) Sweden: Ruppanner et al. (2017; 2018) Switzerland: Henchoz and Wernli (2014) USA: Bianchi et al. (2000); Geist and Tabler (2018) UK: Brown and Roberts (2014); Lyonette and Crompton (2015) Cross-National: Kan et al. (2008; 2011); Tai and Baxter (2018)
“One of the most pressing issues contributing to the persistence of gender inequality is the gendered division of domestic labour” (Lyonette and Crompton, 2015:23) “Gender segregation in domestic work continues to pose a barrier to gender equality” (Kan et al., 2011:235)
SLIDE 5 Source: Kan et al. (2011) – Multinational Time Use Study
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 1961-69 1970-75 1976-84 1985-89 1990-94 1995-99 2000-04
Canda UK USA Australia France Netherlands Germany Slovenia Denmark Norway Finland Sweden Italy Spain Israel
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 1961-69 1970-75 1976-84 1985-89 1990-94 1995-99 2000-04
Canda UK USA Australia France Netherlands Germany Slovenia Denmark Norway Finland Sweden Italy Spain Israel
Women (aged 20-59) Men (aged 20-59)
Time Spent on Domestic Work (minutes per day)
SLIDE 6
What we know about domestic divisions of labour
85%* 49%*
“Women spend more than 3 times longer doing housework in a week than men” (Brown and Roberts, 2014)
*Source: Eurofound 2017
SLIDE 7
DDL and Retirement
Studies using German and Italian panel data have separately shown that men respond to retirement transitions by increasing their hours spent on domestic tasks and taking over some of the work previously performed by their wives. (Leopold & Skopek, 2015; Caltabiano, Campolo, & di Pino, 2015) Analyses of coupled German panel data however show men never perform more than 40% of the households domestic hours, even when their wife is in employment (Leopold & Skopek, 2016) Men’s increase is not permanent, with couples reverting back to pre- retirement divisions of labour (Leopold & Skopek, 2016)
SLIDE 8
Our analysis: Understanding Society Waves 2 and 4. For older workers in partnered households, the gendered division of domestic labour prevails (Cebulla et al., 2007).
DDL and Extending Working Life
Pre-ERA Post-ERA Men: 59 to 64 65 to 70 Women : 58 to 63 64 to 69 Sample: Men aged 59 to 70, and women aged 58 to 69, who are in a cohabitating or in legal marriage or civil partnership.
(Extended Working Life) ERA
SLIDE 9
Preliminary Findings
Women spend, on average, 12.9 hours a week on housework* Men spend, on average, 5.9 hours a week on housework*.
Source: Understanding Society, Wave 2 2.3 5.7 5.7 6.3 5.8 5.8 5.9 6.0 5.4 10.5 8.7 10.5 11.9 13.5 13.4 14.1 13.6 13.2 16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 Men Women *Aged 16-60
SLIDE 10
Preliminary Findings
4.3 4.7 7.6 6.7 13.5 15.8 18.0 17.3 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 Pre-ERA, working Post-ERA, working Pre-ERA, retired Post-ERA, retired Men Women EWL Source: Understanding Society, Wave 2
Self-reported hours spent on housework per week
SLIDE 11
Source: Understanding Society, Wave 2
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Men Women
Who does the washing / ironing
Mostly self Mostly spouse/partner Shared 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Men Woman
Who does the DIY?
Mostly self Mostly spouse/partner Shared
Preliminary Findings
SLIDE 12
Source: Understanding Society, Wave 2
Preliminary Findings
15.8 17.0 15.2 14.4 7.2 3.9 3.1 3.7 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 Pre-ERA, working Post-ERA, working Pre-ERA, retired Post-ERA, retired
EWL respondents hour spent on housework, by partner status
Women Men
SLIDE 13
Preliminary Findings
Source: Understanding Society, Waves 2 & 4
Pre-ERA Post-ERA Men: 59 to 64 65 to 70 Women : 58 to 63 64 to 69
Wave 2 Wave 4
Men who extend their working lives increase hours spent on housework from 5.2 to 6.2 hours Women who extend their working lives decrease hours spent from 13.9 to 13.6 hours
SLIDE 14 Limitations
Survey data are a rather blunt instrument for fully understanding the complexities between the domestic divisions of labour and the nuances
- f negotiations between couple
Issues around the accuracy of reporting, particularly for men. Income, employment and education define the power relations between couples, and subsequent negotiations around domestic divisions of labour Health and Ageing: Geist and Tabler (2018) Ethnicity: Kan and Lamie (2018) Socioeconomic Class: Usdansky (2011) Same-Sex Couples: Bernando et al. (2011); Kelly et al. (2015)
SLIDE 15
Thinking about Policy
Cultural and structural discrimination of women. Work-life tensions for older women. Modified male breadwinner model: domestic work pulling women away from the labour market Are unequal domestic divisions of labour counter-productive to the goal of extending women’s working lives?
