Domestic labor as a symbol of gender and power

Domestic labor as a symbol of gender and power (by Evgheniya Balabanova) is based on a survey among 570 married and cohabitating couples in Nizhniy Novgorod. Hypotheses are examined related to a) linkages between the quantity of household work and individual resources, and b) character of domestic labor allocation within household. An overwhelming (80 to 85 per cent of families) majority of both men and women are generally satisfied with the asymmetric division of domestic burdens, because, traditionally, such logic is perceived as 'rational' and 'fair'. A 'bargaining' model is, in contrast, exercised in about 15 to 20 per cent of families, where the bulk of housework tends to be assigned to dependent or powerless parther accompanied by conflict and violence.