PRI Family Demography Working Group

PRI Family Demography Working Group

Monday, 29 November, 12:00 Noon - 1PM EST

"Housework among Mexican Origin Men and Women: New Tests of Time & Money"

Susana Quirós, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Missouri (PSU Sociology and Demography PhD 2018)

The author tests three main housework theories using the largest sample until now (American Time Use Survey 2003-2016) hypothesizing that if Mexican origin men and women are as inflexibly patriarchal as often described, gender deviance neutralization (GDN) should be evident. Alternatively, if structural conditions are more important, results would better support the autonomy and/or the time constraints perspectives. The author also predicts patterns should vary by nativity status. Contradicting GDN expectations, results show gender-deviant men and women do not do less and more housework, respectively. Furthermore, Mexican origin women, particularly immigrants, whose earnings equal or exceed their spouses’ earnings do less housework than other women. Results better support the time constraints and autonomy theories among women, and hours of paid work are the strongest predictor among men. Altogether, results suggest theories focusing on pragmatic resources -time and money - are preferred.

Information: Nancy Luke (nkl10@psu.edu)