By Christina Bornatici and Isabelle Zinn
Conversations around gender equality are intensifying, with conversations across the world on issues such as the gender pay gap, gender discrimination, the fair distribution of unpaid domestic and care work, and the fight against sexual harassment and violence. Yet many countries, including Switzerland, continue to grapple with outdated family policies that hinder meaningful social change. Despite progress, persistent gender gaps remain both in the workplace and at home, as the COVID-19 pandemic starkly revealed through the gendered distribution of caregiving responsibilities.
At the same time, a worrying backlash is emerging: masculinist actors in positions of power are seeking to reinforce traditional gender norms and stereotypes, undermining fundamental sexual, reproductive, and labor rights. These developments threaten progress toward gender equality and underscore the urgency of understanding how gendered assumptions continue to shape everyday life. In our recent article in Gender & Society, we ask: how do couples divide paid and unpaid work in their lives, and what drives these decisions? Examining such dynamics, we believe, sheds light on both the persistence of inequalities and the forces driving social change.
In many societies, men are still seen as the primary responsible for paid work, while women are expected to do most of the unpaid work (e.g., housework and childcare). Switzerland’s context, with its deep-rooted gendered norms and limited support for dual-earner families, influences how couples divide their roles at home and in the workplace. By analyzing nearly two decades of data (2002-2020) from the Swiss Household Panel, we found that while many heterosexual couples continue to follow traditional gender roles for women and men, a growing number of couples challenge these norms.
The Impact of Parenthood
Our research highlights that couples’ division of paid and unpaid work is not static but shifts across the life course, with the transition to parenthood being a pivotal factor. Before having children, many couples share paid work relatively equally, but unpaid work is already unequally distributed in most couples. After becoming parents, traditional division of work is further entrenched, with mothers reducing paid work to take on more care work, while fathers typically maintain full-time employment. Even as children grow older, couples rarely return to their pre-parenthood arrangements. This pattern suggests that once traditional roles are established, they are hard to reverse.
Does Gender Ideology Matter?
Gender ideologies, which are beliefs on men’s and women’s roles in society, shape outcomes to a degree. We find that couples with strong egalitarian beliefs are more likely to move away from traditional divisions of work. Specifically, women’s egalitarian beliefs tend to influence paid work arrangements, while men’s egalitarian views impact arrangements in unpaid work. Shifting men’s attitudes toward unpaid work is therefore crucial for greater gender equality at home. Promoting “caring masculinities”—where men are more actively encouraged to engage in caregiving—could help break down traditional family roles.
However, it is not enough for couples to hold egalitarian beliefs. External constraints matter. Even couples with strong egalitarian beliefs are limited in their practice of gender egalitarianism when they have young children, for example.
The Role of Policy in Driving Change
Our study suggests that while couples’ gender ideologies matter, policy plays a key role in shaping couples’ work-family arrangements. Switzerland’s conservative family policies, such as joint taxation for married couples, limited parental leave, and insufficient childcare support, create structural barriers that make it difficult for couples to have a more equitable division of paid and unpaid work. Even couples with the most egalitarian beliefs struggle to implement these values when institutional support is lacking. Thus, along with gender ideologies and external constraints, policies matter. Policy reforms could play a transformative role toward fostering gender equality. Affordable childcare, more generous parental leave, and individual taxation would make it easier for couples to align their work-family arrangements with their egalitarian beliefs.
Towards a More Equal Future
Our research highlights that couples’ division of paid and unpaid work is shaped by a complex interplay of individual beliefs, family dynamics, and institutional contexts. While some couples challenge traditional division of work, change towards more equal arrangements remains slow, particularly when children enter the picture. In sum, realizing a future where work and family responsibilities are shared equally by women and men requires a focus on not just individual choices but on the structures that shape them. Achieving gender equality in paid and unpaid work requires action at multiple levels: individual, interactional, and institutional. By fostering a more supportive policy environment and challenging traditional norms, societies can create more equitable and flexible work–family arrangements for all.
Christina Bornatici is a PhD candidate in social sciences at the University of Lausanne and a researcher at FORS – Swiss Center of Expertise in the Social Sciences.
Isabelle Zinn is a tenure-track professor at Bern University of Applied Sciences – Business School and a visiting professor at the University of Lausanne.
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