Gender equality and housework:: The Nordic countries in a comparative perspective

Data from the 2002 International Social Survey Programme are used in this study to examine how macro-level gender inequality and individual-level variables affect housework in 34 industrialized countries. We expect couples' efforts to be lower and the difference between spouses smaller in egalitarian countries. Moreover, time availability, relative resources as well as gender role attitudes are assumed to influence housework within national contexts. Finally, we argue that the effects of individual factors have to be less systematic in countries where women's general standing is high. Theoretical arguments as well as empirical indicators point to the Nordic countries as being of special interest, given their long-standing political emphasis on gender equality, backed by strong welfare regimes and egalitarian traditions. Results document that both spouses do less housework and the division of work is more balanced when gender equality is relatively high than under less egalitarian regimes. Regression analyses show significant effects of time availability, relative income and gender attitudes on women's housework at the individual level, thus supporting findings in the literature. Examination of possible interaction effects, however, indicates that individual effects appear less pronounced in the Nordic countries, which is a finding conflicting with conclusions in recent comparative works based on 1994 ISSP data. On the whole, our findings suggest that gender politics over time clearly affect the level and division of housework over and above what can be explained by individual factors.