When Housework Feels Unequal: Improving Gender Equality at Home Part I
Part I: Series Overview
In many ways, the last century has brought great progress in the realm of gender equality. However, researchers have found that there is a realm in which inequality has remained stubbornly consistent since about the 1970s: the division of labor in the home.
The general consensus among researchers is that the division of physical labor in the household between women and men is about 65 / 35. The gap gets even greater when emotional or cognitive labor is also considered.
It may be that these numbers do not reflect your household. It may be that these numbers are reflective of your household, but that you and your partner are perfectly happy with the way things are divided. Alternatively, you may be very clear that the way labor is distributed in your household is not working for you, but you may not know how or believe it’s possible (or worth it) to address it.
Regardless of what category you fall in, or what your gender is, it is probably worthwhile to explore how labor is distributed in your household, and what the impacts of this distribution are. Sometimes households can fall into socialized gender norms without ever consciously choosing them, and there may be hidden costs that you are failing to recognize.
This series, based on Kate Mangino’s book, Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home, aims to help you explore:
How gender socialization can impact all households, queer or straight, across race and culture
How labor is distributed in your own household
The impact of that distribution on you, your family, and your community
Tools to shift the balance and distribution of labor if you determine that would serve you, your family, and/or partnership
Establishing Roles in Couples Therapy
Did something in this post spark your interest in creating more defined roles in your relationship? Good news—our team at Colorado Therapy Collective is here to help! On our Couples Therapy specialty page, you'll find an overview of what to expect from therapy with one of our experienced couples counselors. If you’d like to speak with someone directly, simply fill out our contact form, and a member of our intake team will be happy to answer any questions and guide you through the next steps.