Outsourcing the Gender Factory

Living Arrangements and Service Expenditures on Female and Male Tasks

Bibliographic Data

ID2953172
AuthorsEsther De Ruijter (Utrecht University, corresponding author), Judith Treas (University of California, Irvine), J K Treas, Philip N Cohen (0000-0003-2839-3144, University of California, Irvine)
Year2005
Volume84
Issue1
Pages305-322
Publication date2005-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Forces (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7732 • E-ISSN: 1534-7605
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1353/sof.2005.0124
OpenAlexW2149203741
LanguageEN
Citations received61
References cited59

Using data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey 1998, this study analyzes how much money different types of households spend for domestic services on “female” and “male” tasks. We test alternative hypotheses based on economic and sociological theories of gender differentiation. Contrary to arguments that marriage lowers the risk to one partner of specializing in housework, we find no differences in service expenditures between cohabiting and married couples. Consistent with gender production arguments that the household context shapes behavior, single women outspend couples across the board. Single men, however, reveal spending behavior more consistent with gender socialization. Comparing single men and single women points to the gendered nature of the tasks as an important aspect of domestic service expenditures

Business · Context (archaeology) · Demographic economics · Economics · Factory (object-oriented programming) · Labour economics · Outsourcing · Service (business) · Socialization · Sociology · Test (biology) · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Marketing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges

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