Men’s Justifications for Their (Non)Involvement in the Household Division of Labor

This study provides insight into a lingering question across research on housework and childcare – how do men justify and explain their involvement in the household division of labor? Thirty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted from March to August 2017 with cisgender, married men in the United States. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously following a grounded theory approach. The majority of men estimated spending less time per week in housework and childcare tasks compared to their wife and reasoned that this arrangement was fair. The three main justifications men used to account for time discrepancies were using mathematical representations, distinguishing between equity and fairness, and invoking comparison cases. We contextualize these findings using distributive justice theory. This study has implications for understanding why gender inequality persists in the household division of labor, family counselors, those seeking justice within the home, and policymakers.