The division of labor among egalitarian and traditional women: Differences in discontent, social comparison, and false consensus

Abstract

We compared 118 egalitarian women (subscribers to the Dutch feminist magazine Opzij) with 118 traditional women (subscribers to the widely read Dutch women's magazine Margriet). On average, egalitrian women had a more equal division of household labor at home than did traditional women but experienced more discontent about the division of labor in their relationship. Egalitarian women with an unequal division of labor experienced more discontent than did traditional women with an unequal division of labor. Relative to traditional women, egalitarian women more often compared their own contribution to housework with their partner's contribution (relational comparison) and with other women's division of labor (referential comparison). Compared to traditional women, egalitarian women gave higher prevalence estimates of both the percentage of Dutch women doing virtually all housework and the percentage of women unhappy with the division of labor.