Gender Difference in Expectations for Domestic Robots A Survey in Japan

To explore what types of tasks robots are expected to perform in domestic fields, and the gender difference in these expectations, an online questionnaire survey was conducted in Japan, where traditional gender role assignments of breadwinning primarily by husbands and housework by wives are still prevalent (N = 400). The survey design consisted of items corresponding to 24 tasks to be performed by robots and 14 skills needed for robots to achieve the tasks. The results showed that women tended to expect robots to perform physical tasks and have human-like thinking capacity, in comparison with men. Moreover, there was a tendency for younger men to have lower expectations for domestic robots than younger women and older men. This paper discusses the implications from the perspective of gender difference in terms of the burden of housework.