Direction of Changes in Women’s Employment Status and Housework: Is the Effect of Women’s Economic Resources Discounted?

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between women’s employment status and housework, primarily focusing on the direction of change in employment status. Although previous studies have examined the effects of employment status on housework, there has been limited attention on the impact of the direction of change. However, as gender inequality and Japanese employment system have persisted in Japan, a transition from regular to nonregular employment and vice versa may have different impacts on housework. Following Blumberg’s argument that the effect of women’s economic resources is “discounted” in the division of labor, we investigated the relationship between the direction of change in employment status and housework. We utilized fixed-effects models to analyze Japanese Life Course Panel Surveys (wave 1–12). The results suggest that the effect size of women’s transition from regular to nonregular employment in increasing housework is significantly larger than the effect of women’s transition from nonregular to regular employment in reducing housework, thereby concluding that the effect of women’s economic resources is discounted. By contrast, such transitions have no significant effect on men’s housework. These results suggest that employment status is not a gender-neutral resource, but is gendered and could disadvantage women in the division of labor.