Divided Time

This text begins with a review of other theoretical and empirical research on domestic work in Britain and North America. The main conclusion being that previous quantitative studies have been handicapped by inadequate theoretical models of how domestic work is allocated. Seeking to rectify this, the first chapter outlines a model and lays out some formal hypotheses for chapter's ahead. The main idea is that we cannot understand how domestic work gets done by simply looking at partners present material circumstances. Partner's gender ideologies are important, but even these must be seen in the light of people's past work history and life circumstances. The following chapters examine the relationship between partners' attitudes and specifically whose attitudes are related to what actually gets done in households. Carrying on the project outlined in the first chapter, the book then shows how present attitudes and practices are related to the partners' individual and marital history. Finally, it examines what effect the domestic division of labour has on the female partner's satisfaction with domestic life.