Who’s Doing the Housework and Childcare Now? Differential Convergence in 21st-century Gender Gaps in Home Tasks

Gender scholars have debated whether the recent movement toward a more equal division of domestic labor is stalling. Using a differential convergence perspective, we argue that examining which domestic tasks experience gender convergence, whose changes narrow the gap, and why changes happen is critical for understanding gender convergence in domestic labor time. Drawing on data from the 2003-22 American Time Use Survey, we examine trends in core housework, occasional housework, shopping, and childcare time. Results for married women and men indicate that the historically large gender gap in housework time narrowed further this century, from a women-to-men ratio of 1.8:1 in 2003-05 to 1.5:1 in 2022. The decrease in the gender gap was concentrated in traditionally “feminine” core housework (from 4.2:1 to 2.5:1), particularly in housecleaning and laundry. The gender gap in shopping time also narrowed significantly, reaching gender parity. However, the gender gap in childcare time remained at a mother-to-father ratio of 2:1. Decomposition analyses indicate that women’s reduced housework time could mainly be explained by population compositional changes, whereas men’s increased housework time reflected behavioral changes. With men taking on more “female-typed” domestic activities, the gendered norms associated with different types of domestic labor may be becoming redefined.