Where is Mr. Clean? Household division of labor and the pay gap between men and women

Abstract

The household division of labor and the pay gap between men and women is examined using the 2003 American Time Use Survey. There are three components to an income determination model: individual, structural and gender level components. The individual component argues that people are rational human beings who make conscious decisions on how to maximize their utility, with increased investments in human capital possibly leading to increases in income. The structural component views society as organized into a hierarchy of economic positions, with different positions carrying different levels of income, independent of individual attributes. The gender component, based on feminist theory, views gender as a process of devaluation and sorting. It is predicted that women will complete the majority of household labor, resulting in a decrease in income. It is further predicted that women will earn less than men, net of other factors. An OLS regression analysis is performed. Women earn $108.24 less per week than men, net of other factors. The structural level component accounts for the most variance at 40.8%, followed by the individual component at 10.1% and then the gender component at 5.8%. Increased participation in household labor results in a slight decrease in income. This relationship, however, is only significant for married women, who receive a decrease of $1.01 per week for each additional hour of household labor performed. Policy implications are discussed, including stricter enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, development of a comparable worth policy, changes in societal views on gender, and more family-friendly work policies.