Below is an excerpt from a new Demography Unplugged research note written by Hedgeye Demography analyst Neil Howe. Click here to learn more and subscribe.
| Even as ideas about gender roles have grown more progressive, the distribution of household chores between men and women hasn’t really changed. 18- to 34-year-olds are no more likely than older couples to distribute most chores equitably, although they are more likely to say they do more of certain chores like cooking and washing dishes. (Gallup) |
NH: Over the last 25 years, from 1996 to 2019, there has been surprisingly little overall shift in the distribution of chores between men and women in the household. For example, women are still much more likely than men to do the laundry, clean the house, and prepare meals. See the first chart below.
Without any age breakdown, however, it's hard to know which generation has been responsible for the change that has occurred. Presumably, many of the G.I. and Silent Generation respondents in 1996 were far more likely than younger generations (Boomers or Xers) at that time to divide household chores by gender. Many of those respondents were no longer with us by 2019. It would be nice to know whether this exit effect was responsible for most of the change. Or whether Millennials are more likely to allocate chores more equally than (specifically) Gen-Xers or Boomers.
The New York Times answers this question by retabulating historical Gallup data from men by age bracket. See the second chart below. And here we see the answer. Apparently, the exit effect was large. Millennial men (age 18-34) were hardly any more likely to do chores than Gen-X men (age 35-55) or Boomer and older men (age 56+). When it comes to interior decorating, only 7% of Millennial men said they were more likely to do more it. With daily child care, 5%. With family activity planning, 9%. With housecleaning, 11%. Across these four chores, there was virtually no difference between Millennial, Xer, and Boomer men.
Of those chores that did show a significant rise in Millennial male participation over older generations, two of them (yard work and car upkeep) were already traditional "male" domains. And another two--"investing and saving" and "bill paying"--raise further questions because, since the last peak of the economic cycle (2007), the employment rate of young women has risen and the employment rate of young men has fallen. IOW, Millennial men are less likely to be making the money but are more likely to be spending it.
Here's another way to think about it. The likelihood of men doing chores rises when (a) he is earning less than his spouse or (b) when his spouse has a college degree. See charts three and four. The prevalence of both (a) and (b) have obviously been rising for Millennial young adults. This must mean that, after normalizing for spousal income and education, Millennial males are less likely to do chores than similarly situated Gen-X or Boomer males.
No wonder first-wave Millennial women are so likely to report emotional burnout (see "Trendspotting 1/22/19, Keyword: Burnout") or to discover they just can't find a man worth marrying (see "Trendspotting 9/16/19, Keyword: Unmarried").
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ABOUT NEIL HOWE
Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed bestselling author and speaker, he is the nation's leading thinker on today's generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America's future.
A historian, economist, and demographer, Howe is also a recognized authority on global aging, long-term fiscal policy, and migration. He is a senior associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where he helps direct the CSIS Global Aging Initiative.
Howe has written over a dozen books on generations, demographic change, and fiscal policy, many of them with William Strauss. Howe and Strauss' first book, Generations is a history of America told as a sequence of generational biographies. Vice President Al Gore called it "the most stimulating book on American history that I have ever read" and sent a copy to every member of Congress. Newt Gingrich called it "an intellectual tour de force." Of their book, The Fourth Turning, The Boston Globe wrote, "If Howe and Strauss are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets."
Howe and Strauss originally coined the term "Millennial Generation" in 1991, and wrote the pioneering book on this generation, Millennials Rising. His work has been featured frequently in the media, including USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and CBS' 60 Minutes.
Previously, with Peter G. Peterson, Howe co-authored On Borrowed Time, a pioneering call for budgetary reform and The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Howe received his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley and later earned graduate degrees in economics and history from Yale University.
