Men's and women's domestic and parental time: what factors have changed in 25 years?

Summary In recent decades, domestic organization has been affected by major changes, such as the rise in female labor force participation and educational attainment, and the reduction in family size. This article analyzes how men's and women's domestic and parental time has been modified by these changes since 1985. It examines changes in the averages and distributions of these two uses of time for all working-age people, with a particular focus on changes within couples. Over the past 25 years, women have devoted more time to parenting activities, but have significantly reduced the time devoted to housekeeping. This reduction is mainly due to changes in their practices, and to a much lesser extent to the increase in female activity and changes in family structures. The reduction is more noticeable for women who spend the most time in the domestic sphere. Men have become more involved in child rearing, with few or no fathers participating. However, men's contribution to other domestic tasks has remained stable. In 2010, women thus perform the majority of household and parental tasks - 71% and 65% respectively. This unequal distribution shows resistance to a more equal sharing of tasks. Within couples, domestic and parenting behaviors are positively related, highlighting common domestic demands and child-rearing preferences that go beyond social homogamy, as well as a lesser specialization of marital roles over time. The number of couples in which the man does more domestic work than his wife is increasing, representing a quarter of couples in 2010.