Birth Timing and the Division of Labor in Dual-Earner Families

Abstract

This article reports on the results of an exploratory study of domestic role-sharing in a purposive sample of dual-earner couples with school-aged children. Divisions of household labor are analyzed with reference to the couples' accounts of how and why they attempt to share child care and housework. Postponing the transition to parenthood facilitated task-sharing by encouraging men to become attached to the father role and promoting women's efforts to relinquish full responsibility for household management. Past findings linking educational attainment to husbands' housework are reevaluated with reference to the potential impacts of birth timing, and suggestions are offered for future research on divisions of household labor.