Examining and Explaining Racial/Ethnic Variation in the Gender Division of Household Labor

Bijou R. Hunt, University of Maryland

Using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from 2003 and 2004, we examine racial/ethnic variation in the gender division of household labor and its covariates among married white, black, Asian, and Hispanic men (N=7,191) and women (N=8,386) ages 18-64. Preliminary results reveal significant differences across racial/ethnic groups in the time men and women spend in housework. Hispanics exhibit the largest gap in female to male housework time, followed by Asians and whites, while the smallest gap occurs among blacks. Additionally, the covariates of housework appear to differ by gender and racial/ethnic group, with time availability explaining substantial variation in housework time for women, though more so among whites, Asians, and Hispanics, and lending relatively little explanatory power to the housework time of men and black women.