Worn-out Mothers: Factors which cause mothers to dedicate more time to household chores

Abstract

Using data from a sample of 1,926 two-parent families (father and mother) with at least one child, we examine the relationship between family characteristics (resources, time availability, socio-demographic factors, couple’s and individual features) and mothers’ domestic burden in Catalonia. The sample is analyzed using logistic regression in order to determine which profiles of mothers are more likely to spend a large amount of hours doing housework. In line with previous literature, we establish different explanatory factors such as time availability, relative resources, professional status and the influence of the partner’s participation in household work. The results confirm a significant relationship between relative resources and mothers’ time availability, thus supporting economic perspectives regarding the distribution of household chores and traditional gender ideology. However, the results also show that the presence of cooperative fathers does not lead to a reduction in mothers’ domestic chores, but increases the likelihood of mothers dedicating even more time to these tasks. This is explained by the fact that the division of housework in some households is determined by a parenting strategy based on investment in household time and intergenerational relationships rather than negotiation based on “what one does need not be done by the other”.