Relationships and Health 415countries in which women had made greater
achievements (e.g., Canada, United States),
as measured by income and political and
economic representation in the country,
had a more egalitarian division of labor than
countries in which women had made fewer
achievements (e.g., Japan, Italy).Work Outside the Home. Who does
what inside the home is bound to be influ-
enced by who does what outside the home.
If one partner works full time (usually the
husband) and one works part time or not
at all (usually the wife), would a 50:50 split
on household chores really be an equitable
arrangement? Several studies have found that
the number of hours people work outside
the home influences the division of labor at
home. The more hours husbands work out-
side the home, the fewer hours they work in-
side the home and the more hours wives work
inside the home (Coltrane, 2000; Erickson,
2005). In addition, the more hours wives work
outside the home, the more hours husbands
work inside the home and the fewer hours
wives work inside the home.Wives’ employ-
ment, however, is a better predictor of the di-
vision of labor in the family than husbands’
employment (Coltrane, 2000). That is, a
wife’s employment most definitely decreases
her contributions to household labor and of-
ten increases the husband’s contributions to
household labor. The number of hours that
husbands are employed outside the home is
not a consistent predictor of men’s contribu-
tion to household labor.Relationship Commitment. Some have
suggested that men’s commitment to the
relationship is associated with their contri-
bution to the division of labor. A study of
cohabiting couples showed that men who
had planned to marry their partners spentIn heterosexual couples, education and
income—indicators of power and status—
are related to the division of labor. Husbands
contribute more to household labor when
either they have lower incomes or wives have
higher incomes (Erickson, 2005). As the in-
come gap increases (men earning more than
women), women spend more time on child
care and household chores (Stevens et al.,
2006). The income gap influences men’s
participation rates more than women’s. In
other words, high-income men are especially
unlikely to spend time on household labor.
One study showed that women’s income
was a better predictor of her household labor
than her husband’s income (Gupta, 2006).
When her income increases, her housework
decreases. Women’s income may provide
her with greater power in the relationship
to negotiate household labor and also may
provide her with the resources to “buy out
of household labor” by going out to eat or
hiring a housekeeper.
Further evidence that power underlies
the division of labor among heterosexuals
comes from a study that examined the impli-
cations of men’s status at work for household
labor. When women’s and men’s earnings
were similar, men who held subordinate
positions at work were especially unlikely to
participate in household chores (Arrighi &
Maume, 2000). Arrighi and Maume sug-
gested that men may be reluctant to perform
tasks at home which they construe as femi-
nine when their jobs threaten their masculin-
ity. However, when men had a much higher
income than women (affirming their mascu-
linity), the nature of the job had less effect on
participation in household chores.
The effect of the differential status be-
tween women and men on household labor
was also examined in a cross-cultural study
of 22 countries (Fuwa, 2004). As predicted,M11_HELG0185_04_SE_C11.indd 415 6/21/11 12:43 PM