The division of household labor in Taiwan

In this paper, we examine how the interplay between economic resources and gender may explain the division of household labor in Taiwan, a society with the rich heritage of Chinese culture. As one of the few studies on the division of household labor among married couples in non-western settings, our analyses show both the similarities and differences between Taiwanese and American couples. Specifically, we found that men's share of household labor was explained by their income, education, gender ideology, and the number of children, which is relatively similar to previous findings in the United States. On the contrary, none of the above factors shows significant effects on women's share of household labor. Instead, we found that higher occupational status decreases women's share of household labor. Moreover, we found that unemployed husbands share less household labor and women with equal or higher occupational status relative to their spouses perform more household labor in extended families, indicating that couples in these households try to neutralize their unconventional roles through household labor participation.