Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case
Abstract As a consequence of recent socio-demographic trends and labour market transformations the role of grandparental support has become pivotal in individuals’ and households’ life courses. In Southern European countries the availability of grandparents affects young couples’ labour market parti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Genus |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-022-00168-4 |
| _version_ | 1828794964672249856 |
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| author | Marco Albertini Marco Tosi |
| author_facet | Marco Albertini Marco Tosi |
| author_sort | Marco Albertini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract As a consequence of recent socio-demographic trends and labour market transformations the role of grandparental support has become pivotal in individuals’ and households’ life courses. In Southern European countries the availability of grandparents affects young couples’ labour market participation and fertility decisions. In the present paper, it is asked if the potential availability of social support from the older family generation is associated with more or less inequality in the division of unpaid housework in couples with minor children, in Italy. Using data from the 2016 Family and Social Subjects survey it is shown that while there is not a clear relation between intergenerational face-to-face contacts and the symmetry of the division of household labour, adult children and older (grand)parents coresidence is associated with a more gender-equal sharing of housework within couples, arguably because co-residing grandparents take on the execution of a number of household tasks. The observed effect is comparable to that of hiring a paid housekeeper and higher than hiring a babysitter. Thus, despite one may think that three-generation households are characterized by a culture of traditional norms, our findings indicate that they have a more gender-equal division of housework. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:55:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a31271b9168e4caa9b5501932097604a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2035-5556 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:55:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genus |
| spelling | doaj.art-a31271b9168e4caa9b5501932097604a2022-12-22T00:39:16ZengSpringerOpenGenus2035-55562022-06-0178112210.1186/s41118-022-00168-4Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian caseMarco Albertini0Marco Tosi1Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Statistical Sciences, University of PaduaAbstract As a consequence of recent socio-demographic trends and labour market transformations the role of grandparental support has become pivotal in individuals’ and households’ life courses. In Southern European countries the availability of grandparents affects young couples’ labour market participation and fertility decisions. In the present paper, it is asked if the potential availability of social support from the older family generation is associated with more or less inequality in the division of unpaid housework in couples with minor children, in Italy. Using data from the 2016 Family and Social Subjects survey it is shown that while there is not a clear relation between intergenerational face-to-face contacts and the symmetry of the division of household labour, adult children and older (grand)parents coresidence is associated with a more gender-equal sharing of housework within couples, arguably because co-residing grandparents take on the execution of a number of household tasks. The observed effect is comparable to that of hiring a paid housekeeper and higher than hiring a babysitter. Thus, despite one may think that three-generation households are characterized by a culture of traditional norms, our findings indicate that they have a more gender-equal division of housework.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-022-00168-4GrandparentsGenderHouseworkHousehold labourChild care |
| spellingShingle | Marco Albertini Marco Tosi Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case Genus Grandparents Gender Housework Household labour Child care |
| title | Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case |
| title_full | Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case |
| title_fullStr | Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case |
| title_short | Grandparents, family solidarity and the division of housework: evidence from the Italian case |
| title_sort | grandparents family solidarity and the division of housework evidence from the italian case |
| topic | Grandparents Gender Housework Household labour Child care |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-022-00168-4 |
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