Gender division of labor in China : changes in domestic work and market work in the early 21st century

Abstract

This thesis, which consists of three sub-studies, explores the trend of market work and family work and their long-term relationship among Chinese adults in the early 21st century. Study One explores the trend in family work. Applying hierarchical age-period-cohort growth curve models (HAPC-GCMs), Study One systematically investigates the different roles of aging and cohort in changing the gendered division of household work among Chinse adults. It supports that housework is a cohort-related phenomenon, given the evident existence of inter-cohort and intra-cohort differences in housework trajectories. It finds no significant decrements in housework across five early cohorts (born 1944–1969) but significant decrements in three recent cohorts (born after 1970). Additionally, the convergence theory does not completely apply to Chinese adults. Although similar to women in western countries young women in China reduce their housework time, young men in China do not correspondingly increase their housework time as their western male counterpart, instead, young Chinese men reduce their housework time, suggesting the second part of gender revolution pioneered by young men that occurred in western countries has not emerged in China. Study Two explores the trend in market work. It examines the age trajectories of market work, the period, and cohort differentials in these trajectories. To examine age and period trends, Study Two employs Heckman selection models to correct for bias in earning regressions and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to understand the forces that have driven the changes in the gender pay gap. It employs the HAPC-GCMs to examine cohort variations. Regarding age trends, both OLS models and HAPC-GCMs reveal an inverted U-shaped pattern. The HAPC-GCMs also show an initial nonsignificant gender pay gap, but with age increases, the gender pay gap expands. Regarding period trends, the gender pay gap is initially small in 2004, widens in 2006, remains in 2009 and 2011, and narrows in 2015. In 2004 only 3% of the gender pay gap can be explained by covariates, by 2015 most can be explained (57%). Regarding cohort trends, recent cohorts earn more annually than early cohorts and the gender pay gap is smaller. Study Three focuses on the nexus of family work and market work. Using random intercept-cross-lagged panel model, which adjusts for stable, between-person differences, it examines the within-person within-time relationship between market wages and routine housework performance. It also employs multiple group analyses to examine the moderating role of gender. It fails to find a bidirectional negative relationship between market earnings and housework time, such that a respondent’s higher than usual level of market earnings does not predict intra-individual decreases in housework time at the next measurement occasion (except in 2006), and a lower than usual level of housework time does not predict lower market earnings in the future. Nonetheless, it indicates that from 2004 to 2006, women’s within-person fluctuations in market earnings impact their housework time two years later. Overall, Study Three partially lends support to autonomy theory and the relative resources perspective but fails to show evidence for the gender perspective and human capital theory.