Sexual Division of Labour

The sexual division of labour is the socially patterned allocation of different kinds of work to women and men within a household. It commonly assigns women primary responsibility for unpaid housework and caregiving, while associating men with income-earning work outside the home; this allocation reflects gender norms, not merely biological differences.

How work is divided

• Women are commonly expected to perform unpaid domestic work, including cooking, cleaning, washing and household management.
• Women also undertake much of the care work for children, older persons and other household members.
• Men are conventionally treated as breadwinners and associated with paid work, even though women may also earn incomes outside the home.
• Because domestic labour does not directly receive wages, its economic and social value is often under-recognised.

Why it is a social division

This division is reproduced through gender socialisation: girls and boys are taught different duties, skills and expectations from childhood. Tasks become labelled as naturally feminine or masculine, although similar work may be performed by either sex and may become paid employment outside the household.

• Household arrangements vary across class, caste, region and family circumstances, so the pattern is influential but not universal.
• Treating the arrangement as natural can conceal unequal bargaining power and restrict the redistribution of care among household members.

Consequences for women

• A disproportionate domestic workload can create time poverty, reducing time available for education, rest, paid employment and public participation.
• Women who combine employment with primary household responsibility experience a double burden of paid and unpaid work.
• Dependence on another household member's income can weaken economic autonomy and decision-making power.
• Recognition, reduction and sharing of unpaid work are therefore important for substantive gender equality.