The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany
Abstract The transition to parenthood is a pivotal life course event that impacts well-being, relationship quality and the distribution of housework and paid work. In Germany, during the transition to first-time parenthood, women often reduce their involvement in paid work and take on a larger share...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-024-00239-8 |
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| author | Maria Hornung Chiara Ludovica Comolli |
| author_facet | Maria Hornung Chiara Ludovica Comolli |
| author_sort | Maria Hornung |
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| description | Abstract The transition to parenthood is a pivotal life course event that impacts well-being, relationship quality and the distribution of housework and paid work. In Germany, during the transition to first-time parenthood, women often reduce their involvement in paid work and take on a larger share of housework, leading to a more gendered division of labor. This shift could influence perceptions of fairness in the division of labor inducing both men and women to perceive the division as being more fair to themselves or more fair to their partner. Using data from the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam) and fixed effects models, we examine how women’s and men’s perception of fairness of the division of labor varies around first childbirth conceptualizing different phases spanning from 5 years before until 5 years after the first childbirth. Relative to baseline, mothers (-to-be) reported a fairer division of labor (less under-benefitting) from around conception to right after childbirth. Yet, already from 6 months after childbirth mothers’ perception of fairness becomes less fair to them again and the perception of under-benefitting continues as the child ages. For fathers-to-be, perceptions of fairness did not vary substantially around childbirth. We further found that neither the change in the division of housework, nor in the division of paid work, explained changes in fairness perceptions during the transition to parenthood. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-57c2a166501a4539ab46a024db97c17a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2035-5556 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
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| spelling | doaj-art-57c2a166501a4539ab46a024db97c17a2025-01-19T12:13:53ZengSpringerOpenGenus2035-55562025-01-0181112510.1186/s41118-024-00239-8The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in GermanyMaria Hornung0Chiara Ludovica Comolli1Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Humboldt University of BerlinDipartimento Di Scienze Statistiche “Paolo Fortunati”, University of BolognaAbstract The transition to parenthood is a pivotal life course event that impacts well-being, relationship quality and the distribution of housework and paid work. In Germany, during the transition to first-time parenthood, women often reduce their involvement in paid work and take on a larger share of housework, leading to a more gendered division of labor. This shift could influence perceptions of fairness in the division of labor inducing both men and women to perceive the division as being more fair to themselves or more fair to their partner. Using data from the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam) and fixed effects models, we examine how women’s and men’s perception of fairness of the division of labor varies around first childbirth conceptualizing different phases spanning from 5 years before until 5 years after the first childbirth. Relative to baseline, mothers (-to-be) reported a fairer division of labor (less under-benefitting) from around conception to right after childbirth. Yet, already from 6 months after childbirth mothers’ perception of fairness becomes less fair to them again and the perception of under-benefitting continues as the child ages. For fathers-to-be, perceptions of fairness did not vary substantially around childbirth. We further found that neither the change in the division of housework, nor in the division of paid work, explained changes in fairness perceptions during the transition to parenthood.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-024-00239-8Transition to parenthoodHouseworkPaid workDivision of laborFairness |
| spellingShingle | Maria Hornung Chiara Ludovica Comolli The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany Genus Transition to parenthood Housework Paid work Division of labor Fairness |
| title | The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany |
| title_full | The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany |
| title_fullStr | The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany |
| title_short | The perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in Germany |
| title_sort | perception of fairness in the division of labor around first childbirth in germany |
| topic | Transition to parenthood Housework Paid work Division of labor Fairness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-024-00239-8 |
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