For most of American history, gender roles were rigidly defined: Men went to work while women stayed home to cook, clean, and care for the children.
Stereotypes about gender have been changing in recent decades, however. There’s now almost universal support for women to pursue careers or political office, and women today tend to get more education than men.
But in one area, change has been minimal: Even young people, who tend to support gender equality in many facets of life, are holding on to traditional views about who does certain chores. A recent survey from Gallup found that among opposite-sex couples, those ages 18 to 34 were no more likely than older couples to divide most household work equitably. And a sociology study published this year found that when high school seniors were asked about their ideal family arrangement with young children, almost a quarter said it was for the man to work full time and the woman to stay home, a larger share than desired any other arrangement, including having both parents work. A majority said a father staying home was unacceptable.
Experts say these results show just how long it can take for societal expectations to truly shift.
“If young people can’t even envision a model of what men’s time at home might look like, that’s evidence that our beliefs about gender are really strong and sticky,” says Joanna Pepin, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the authors of the high school study. “That’s yet another thing that’s getting in the way of social change.”
For most of American history, gender roles seemed unchangeable. Men went to work while women stayed home to cook, clean, and care for the children.
But stereotypes about gender have been changing in recent decades. There’s now almost universal support for women to pursue careers or political office. Women today also tend to get more education than men.
But in one area, there hasn’t been a lot of change: chores. Young people tend to support gender equality in many parts of life. But even they are holding on to traditional views about who does certain chores. A recent survey from Gallup found that among opposite-sex couples, those ages 18 to 34 were no more likely than older couples to divide most household work equitably. A sociology study published this year explored high school seniors’ thoughts on the ideal family arrangement with young children. Almost a quarter said it was best for the man to work full time and the woman to stay home. That’s larger than the share that preferred any other arrangement, including having both parents work. A majority said a father staying home was unacceptable.
Experts say these results show just how long it can take for societal views to truly shift.
“If young people can’t even envision a model of what men’s time at home might look like, that’s evidence that our beliefs about gender are really strong and sticky,” says Joanna Pepin, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the authors of the high school study. “That’s yet another thing that’s getting in the way of social change.”