Working Paper: NBER ID: w26931
Authors: Francine D. Blau; Lawrence Kahn; Matthew L. Comey; Amanda R. Eng; Pamela A. Meyerhofer; Alexander Willn
Abstract: There is a well-known gender difference in time allocation within the household, which has important implications for gender differences in labor market outcomes. We ask how malleable this gender difference in time allocation is to culture. In particular, we ask if US immigrants allocate tasks differently depending upon the characteristics of the source countries from which they emigrated. Using data from the 2003-2017 waves of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that first-generation immigrants, both women and men, from source countries with more gender equality (as measured by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index) allocate tasks more equally, while those from less gender equal source countries allocate tasks more traditionally. These results are robust to controls for immigration cohort, years since migration, and other own and spouse characteristics. There is also some indication of an effect of parent source country gender equality for second-generation immigrants, particularly for second-generation men with children. Our findings suggest that broader cultural factors do influence the gender division of labor in the household.
Keywords: gender equality; nonmarket work; immigrants; cultural factors; household labor
JEL Codes: J13; J15; J16; J22
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Higher GGI (F12) | More equal allocation of household tasks (D13) |
| Higher GGI (F12) | Less time on total nonmarket work for immigrant women (J29) |
| Higher GGI (F12) | Higher levels of nonmarket work for immigrant men (J69) |
| Source country's gender equality (F63) | Household labor allocation for second-generation immigrant men (D13) |