Blurring the gender boundary of family work: an exploratory study of heterosexual dual-career couples who share family work

Abstract

Empirical studies in Aotearoa/New Zealand on the division of household labour and parenting have shown that the gender boundary of family work persists. My interest in this research topic has arisen from experiencing the 'double burden' of combining paid work with family work, and a personal goal to work towards enhancing women's lives. The central aim of this research is to show the dynamics involved when men and women make a conscious attempt to share family work. I have adopted a gender perspective to explore the ways in which four heterosexual dual-career couples with a child or children less than twelve years of age, blur this gender boundary of work. The literature indicates that household arrangements are inextricably linked to the economy, and that the gender content of family work is constructed, shaped and reshaped, according to particular historical contexts. Semi-structured, joint and individual interviews were conducted with each couple, and they were flexible and adaptable to establish a collaborative interviewer/interviewee relationship. The innovative visual technique, 'household portrait', developed by Doucet (1996), was used as an interactive tool to promote discussion, and document explicitly the ways in which couples undertake family tasks. The patterns of household arrangements of the couples in this study were reactive and informal, rather than pro-active and formally structured. However, the couples actively sought to share family work. The sharing of family work was largely underpinned by notions of fairness, and this was an evolving process, which was producing positive outcomes for both male and female partners and their children.