Equality Is Bliss? Relationship Quality and the Gender Division of Household Labor

Abstract

How does gender equality in the division of household labor correlate with relationship quality? Earlier research has pointed to the division of routine housework as a “zero-sum game”: Women gain in terms of relationship quality when housework is shared equally, while men lose. I find weak support for a “zero-sum game” logic in the case of Norway, possibly related to the strong influence of gender egalitarian norms in Norwegian society. For men, equality in the sharing of routine housework is associated with less dissatisfaction with the division of household labor than all other sharing arrangements. Compared with taking no or little part in such housework, men who do as much routine housework as their partner score equally well on an index for relationship quality. While women’s relationship quality deteriorates the larger their share of intermittent work (doing small repairs) is, there is no clear pattern among men.