Somebody has to DUST! Gender, health, and housework in older couples

ABSTRACT

This study examines the link between health and housework among older couples. For those out of the paid labor force, many of the standard arguments about relative resources and time availability no longer hold. Women spend more time on domestic tasks than men at any age; however, it is unclear how health shapes the household division of labor based on gender among older adults. This study examines the relative effect of three dimensions of health. Women’s poor health increases the chance of an equal division of labor, but the gender nature of household tasks may limit women’s ability to cut back.

KEYWORDS:

• Couples
• health
• housework
• older adults

Funding

The collection of data used in this study was partly supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant number R01 HD069609 and the National Science Foundation under award number 1157698.

Additional information

Funding

The collection of data used in this study was partly supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant number R01 HD069609 and the National Science Foundation under award number 1157698.