The gendered division of housework and fertility intention in Turkey

Abstract

It is increasingly acknowledged that an equal sharing of domestic labour in a household influences women’s childbearing behavior in a positive way. Despite the growing literature on this association, there is little research exploring this phenomenon in the Middle Eastern setting. Using intensive interviews with women (n = 32), I examine how the division of domestic labour is connected to women’s intention to continue childbearing in Turkey, an understudied region. The study finds that husbands’ housework share is positively related to women’s fertility intention for an additional child in Turkey. The gender revolution framework offers an explanation for fertility and gender relationship in Turkey; however, the fact that only a small number of sampled women enjoyed domestic equality and greater desire to continue childbearing suggests that the gender revolution is just evolving in this environment.