Abstract
Societies’ ideologies on the distribution of unpaid labour seem to have remained stagnant despite dramatic shifts in the worlds of work and society. The distribution of unpaid labour has implications for the wellbeing of individuals and the sustainability of their various personal and professional relationships. Our study addressed the less-researched “what” and “why” of the distribution of unpaid labour among dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative approach, conducting 32 semi-structured interviews with individuals belonging to dual-earner couples in Sri Lanka. Interview data were thematically analysed using social role theory. Six major findings emanated from our study; (1) the pandemic did not drastically change the distribution of unpaid labour in most dual-earner couples, confirming traditional gender norms; (2) there was a change in the contribution of men towards unpaid labour when the woman was at home (working from home or during maternity leave), or had other means of support from domestic aid or extended family; (3) three clusters of men were identified as “sharing”, “chipping-in”, and “not-my-problem” types, depending on their involvement in unpaid labour; (4) “chipping-in” and “not-my-problem” type men reinforced the notion of gendered distribution of unpaid labour; (5) three clusters of women were identified as “sharing”, “asking-for-help”, and “bearing-the-cross” types; and (6) these couples, and women specifically, endured the unequal division of unpaid labour with the assistance of parents, in-laws, or paid domestic help. Our study has implications for the sustainability of individuals, as well as their wellbeing, families, organisations, and society.
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Geography, Planning and Development,Building and Construction
Reference53 articles.
1. Economic dependence, gender, and the division of labor in the home: A replication and extension;Greenstein;J. Marriage Fam.,2000
2. Razavi, S. The Political and Social Economy of Care in a Development Context. Conceptual Issues, Research Questions and Policy Implications, Gender and Development Programme, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. 2022.
3. A feminist perspective on COVID-19 and the value of care work globally;Bahn;Gender Work Organ.,2020
4. Research on household labor: Modeling and measuring the social embeddedness of routine family work;Coltrane;J. Marriage Fam.,2000
5. Sri Lanka Time Use Survey Final Report–2017. 2022.
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献