Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families

An increasing number of studies have sought to explore the gender gap in the distribution of family responsibilities. While men and women have become more similar in their egalitarian views and involvement toward paid work and family responsibilities, mothers continue to bear the brunt of housework...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mariana Pinho, Inês Lourenço, Marisa Lousada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Genealogy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/9/2/54
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849431852491735040
author Mariana Pinho
Inês Lourenço
Marisa Lousada
author_facet Mariana Pinho
Inês Lourenço
Marisa Lousada
author_sort Mariana Pinho
collection DOAJ
description An increasing number of studies have sought to explore the gender gap in the distribution of family responsibilities. While men and women have become more similar in their egalitarian views and involvement toward paid work and family responsibilities, mothers continue to bear the brunt of housework and caregiving responsibilities. The present study explored the allocation of family work among Portuguese couples and the social–psychological characteristics associated with it. A sample of 153 parents with young children completed questionnaires. The results revealed that parents’ gender ideologies and biological essentialism were related and predicted their involvement in childcare and housework. Overall, the findings shed light on the mechanisms that shape the division of childcare and housework and suggest pathways for achieving greater gender equality within the home.
format Article
id doaj-art-ba5f4f22b0ad41fbb113ad84b18b5fe0
institution Kabale University
issn 2313-5778
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Genealogy
spelling doaj-art-ba5f4f22b0ad41fbb113ad84b18b5fe02025-08-20T03:27:29ZengMDPI AGGenealogy2313-57782025-05-01925410.3390/genealogy9020054Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese FamiliesMariana Pinho0Inês Lourenço1Marisa Lousada2ECOMARE, CESAM—Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalSchool of Health Sciences (ESSUA), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalRISE-Health, School of Health Sciences (ESSUA), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalAn increasing number of studies have sought to explore the gender gap in the distribution of family responsibilities. While men and women have become more similar in their egalitarian views and involvement toward paid work and family responsibilities, mothers continue to bear the brunt of housework and caregiving responsibilities. The present study explored the allocation of family work among Portuguese couples and the social–psychological characteristics associated with it. A sample of 153 parents with young children completed questionnaires. The results revealed that parents’ gender ideologies and biological essentialism were related and predicted their involvement in childcare and housework. Overall, the findings shed light on the mechanisms that shape the division of childcare and housework and suggest pathways for achieving greater gender equality within the home.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/9/2/54childcarehouseworkparental involvementgender ideologiesbiological essentialism
spellingShingle Mariana Pinho
Inês Lourenço
Marisa Lousada
Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families
Genealogy
childcare
housework
parental involvement
gender ideologies
biological essentialism
title Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families
title_full Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families
title_fullStr Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families
title_full_unstemmed Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families
title_short Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families
title_sort who does what the distribution of housework and childcare in portuguese families
topic childcare
housework
parental involvement
gender ideologies
biological essentialism
url https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/9/2/54
work_keys_str_mv AT marianapinho whodoeswhatthedistributionofhouseworkandchildcareinportuguesefamilies
AT ineslourenco whodoeswhatthedistributionofhouseworkandchildcareinportuguesefamilies
AT marisalousada whodoeswhatthedistributionofhouseworkandchildcareinportuguesefamilies