1

Does Satisfaction with Family Life

Depend on How Household Work Is Shared?

From the ISSP Survey on Family and Changing Gender Roles

1

September 2016

MURATA Hiroko ARAMAKI Hiroshi

Public Opinion Research Division

NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute

1This article is based on the authors’ article “Katei seikatsu no manzokudo wa kaji no buntan shidai?: ISSP

kokusai hikaku chosa ‘Katei to danjo no yakuwari’ kara” [Does Satisfaction in Your Family Life Depend on

How You Share Household Work?: From the ISSP Survey on “Family and Changing Gender Roles], originally

published in the December 2015 issue of Hoso kenkyu to chosa. NHK’s monthly report on broadcast research.

Full text in Japanese available at: http://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/research/yoron/pdf/20151201_5.pdf

2

Abstract

The authors studied the relationship between satisfaction with family life and sharing of

household work among men and women living with a spouse by comparing findings in 31

countries/regions from the 2012 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) on Family

and Changing Gender Roles.

In Japan, only 4 percent of men spend more than 20 hours a week on household work;

for women the figure is 65 percent. The difference between men and women is over 60

percentage points, the second largest disparity among all the countries surveyed. For specific

chores such as laundry or meal preparation, the percentage of women in Japan who mainly

perform this work is higher than in other countries.

Many Japanese women believe that the sharing of household work is unfair. Even

though belief in gendered division of work is weakening in society, traditional gender roles

persist in the household, which probably contributes to women’s feelings of unfair division of

labor. Men also acknowledge that they do less than their fair share of household work.

Forty-three percent of Japanese men and 33 percent of Japanese women are satisfied

with family life, figures lower than in many other countries/regions. Multiple regression

analysis shows that satisfaction with family life is influenced by whether people feel that

household work is shared fairly. This finding suggests that if husbands shared more of the

household work, wives would acknowledge that the sharing is less unfair, leading them to a

higher level of satisfaction with family life.

1. Introduction

(1) The Issue in Question

Research organizations from approximately 50 countries or regions are members of the

International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), a cross-national survey collaboration program,

which conducted a survey on family and changing gender roles in 2012. The article compares

the results of the survey for Japan and other countries. The survey topic of family life and

gender roles explores attitudes toward women in paid work, sharing of household work, and

marriage, against the backdrop of changes in traditional gender roles occasioned by increasing

women’s participation in the workforce. This is the fourth survey on this topic, following

previous surveys conducted in 1988, 1994, and 2002.

Beginning in the 1960s, Japan’s industrial structure underwent a rapid shift from

agriculture to manufacturing. It became customary for men to take paid employment, and the

traditional gender roles of men working outside the home and women performing housework

and taking care of children at home became entrenched.2 But from the middle of the 1970s,

as the number of households where both partners were working increased and various

measures supporting women’s employment, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Law

of 1986 and the Childcare Leave Law of 1992 were adopted, traditional gender roles were

blurred.

The ISSP survey asks detailed questions about the sharing of household work, division

of paid and unpaid work between spouses, and so forth. An analysis of the Japanese data from

the previous ISSP survey in 2002 showed that women spend many hours on household work

2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 2010. Gendai Nihonjin no ishiki kozo [The Structure of

Contemporary Japanese Consciousness], 7th edition. NHK Shuppan.

3

and that women who are working for pay feel that household work is a heavy burden.3

Analysis of the results of 2012 survey showed similar results.4

This paper analyzes 2012 ISSP survey data, focusing on men and women living with a

spouse. It examines Japanese men and women’s division of household work, how much of a

burden they feel it is, and the relationship between division of household work and

satisfaction with family life, in comparison with other countries. The 2002 survey conducted

in Japan used the face-to-face method, whereas the 2012 survey used the self-completion with

interviewer involvement method; for this reason, no time-series comparisons will be made.

(2) Data

The 2012 ISSP survey on family life and changing gender roles consisted of about 60

questions; this paper analyzes data from 12 questions relating to division of roles between

spouses. Unless otherwise noted, the denominator used is “men and women living with a

spouse.”

This survey was conducted in 37 countries, but countries such as those with a response

rate of less than 30 percent were excluded. Results for 30 countries5 were analyzed, but since

the data of Germany was collected for the former West Germany and East Germany, this

paper will refer to “31 countries and regions.” Details on countries and survey methodology

can be found at the end of this paper. Simple tabulation results for Japan can be found in the

April 2013 issue of the Hoso kenkyu to chosa, NHK’s monthly report on broadcast research.

To facilitate identifying answer trends in each country, answer options like “don’t know”

and “no answer” were excluded.

(3) Working Hours and Income

The employment status and income of men and women living with a spouse are as follows: In

Japan, 72 percent of men and 58 percent of women are “currently working for pay.” Among

men, 42 percent work 50 or more hours per week, the sixth highest figure among the 31

countries and regions surveyed. Among women, on the other hand, 46 percent work 35 or

more hours a week, a low figure overall, whereas 54 percent work 34 hours or less per week,

the third highest figure. In this paper, people working 35 hours or more per week are defined

as working “full-time.”

In terms of income, 89 percent of Japanese men, the highest proportion along with

Turkish men, answered that they earn more than their spouse (“My spouse has no income” +

“I have a much higher income” + “I have a higher income”), whereas only 6 percent of

Japanese women, the lowest overall, gave this answer (Figure 1).

3 Toshiyuki Kobayashi, 2003. “Ishiki no henka ni miru ‘shoshika no kozu’: ‘Katei to danjo no yakuwari’ ni

kansuru chosa kara” [“The Structure of the Declining Birthrate” as Revealed in Attitudinal Changes: From the

ISSP Survey on Family and Changing Gender Roles]. Hoso kenkyu to chosa, April 2003 issue. 4 Toshiyuki Kobayashi, 2013. “‘Kekkon’ ya ‘kaji buntan’ ni kansuru danjo no ishiki no chigai: ISSP kokusai

hikaku chosa (Katei to danjo no yakuwari): Nihon no kekka kara” [Gender Difference in Views on ”Marriage”

and “Sharing of Household Work”: ISSP Survey on Family and Changing Gender Roles]: Survey Results of

Japan]. Hoso kenkyu to chosa, April 2013 issue. 5 Data excluded from analysis for Denmark, the U.K., and Taiwan, where the questionnaire had no variable

asking about the presence or absence of a spouse, and for Canada, India, Ireland, and Lithuania, where the

response rate was under 30 percent.

4

Figure 1. Earn More Than Spouse

(My spouse has no income + I have a much higher income

+ I have a higher income)

Note: Percentage of women ranked in descending order

Japan

5

The difference between men and women in Japan regarding income is over 80

percentage points, the largest of all groups. There is little change when the responses of only

those who are currently working are examined: in that case, 91 percent of men report earning

more than their spouse versus 8 percent of women, which is not much different from the

overall result.

In other words, these results show that, compared with other countries, more men in

Japan work long hours and earn more than their spouse. This illustrates the role of men as the

family breadwinner and of women as dependent on men’s earnings.

2. Sharing Household Work

(1) In Japan, Striking Gender Disparities in Time Spent on Household Work

Looking at the length of time spent on household work, only 4 percent of Japanese men spend

20 or more hours per week on household work, compared to 65 percent of Japanese women.

This is a disparity of over 60 percentage points and the second largest among all countries

surveyed. According to NHK’s National Time Use Survey,6 among persons aged 20 and over,

women spend an average of 4 hours and 25 minutes daily on household work, compared to 50

minutes per day for men—a trend also found in the ISSP survey.

Further examining time spent on household work by age group, men aged 50 to 64 who

spend “less than 5 hours” per week on household work account for a larger proportion than

other groups, showing that they spend little time on household work. Women aged 65 and

over tend to spend less time on household work than other age groups of women.

Figure 2 compares time spent on household work by full-time workers in Finland,

always the top-ranking country in the World Economic Forum gender equality rankings,7 the

middle-ranked United States, and lowest-ranked South Korea and Japan. In Japan, 62 percent

of women, even those working full-time, spend 20 or more hours per week on household

work, whereas the proportion is much smaller for Japanese men at only 2 percent. Women in

Finland also spend more time on household work, but the difference with Finnish men is not

as large as in Japan. In the United States, both genders spend equal amounts of time on

household work, and the proportion of men who engage in household work is relatively high.

This supports the findings of a comparative time-use study8 in Japan, Canada, the United

States, the U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands, and Finland that “out of the seven countries,

American men work the hardest when considering both paid work and unpaid work like

household work.”

In Japan, total yearly work hours have decreased since the enforcement of the Revised

Labour Standards Law in 1988, but a large proportion of men, in particular, work long hours

compared to other developed countries.9 Some believe that the reason for the large gender

6 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, ed., 2011. Nihonjin no seikatsu jikan: 2010 NHK kokumin

seikatsu jikan chosa [Daily Time Use among Japanese: 2010 NHK Time Use Survey among Japanese]. NHK

Shuppan. 7 Compiled from World Economic Forum data based on numerical indexes ranking the gender gap in four

areas—economics, education, politics, and health. According to the rankings for 2014, Japan ranks 104th among

142 countries, very low for a developed country. 8 Tomomi Shinada, 2007. Kaji to kazoku no nichijo seikatsu: Shufu wa naze hima ni naranakatta no ka

[Household Work and Daily Life of the Family: Why Didn’t Housewives Gain More Free Time?]. Gakubunsha. 9 Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, 2013. Detabukku kokusai rodo hikaku (2013 nen ban)

[Databook of International Labour Statistics 2013].

6

disparity in time on household work is due to Japanese men’s long working hours,10

but the

2012 ISSP data does not clearly indicate trends that men working longer are likely to spend

less time on household work. Among men working 50 hours or more, 74 percent spend less

than 5 hours on household work, as do 67 percent of men working less than 50 hours, a

difference which is not statistically significant.

Figure 2. Hours Spent on Household Work per Week among Full-time Workers

(Japan, South Korea, United States, Finland)

(2) Household Work Is Women’s Work in Japan

Next, we examined division of work for specific household tasks like laundry or meal

preparation. Respondents were asked who in the household handled “shopping for groceries,”

“caring for sick family members,” and “making small repairs around the house.” In all the

countries surveyed, women who answered “always me” or “usually me” accounted for the

overwhelming proportion of respondents, except for “making small repairs around the house”

(Figure 3). A larger proportion of men in all countries responded that they handled “making

small repairs around the house.” Men probably handle the bulk of such repairs since they

require physical strength, but it has also been pointed out that men often do such household

10

Junko Inui, 2011. “Seiki shugyo to seibetsu yakuwari bungyo ishiki ga kaji buntan ni ataeru eikyo: NFRJ08 o

mochiita bunseki” [The Effects of Wife’s Regularly Working and Couple’s Gender Role Attitudes on the

Division of Household Labor: Analysis of NFRJ08 Data]. Shigeto Tanaka and Akiko Nagai, eds. Dai sankai

kazoku ni tsuite no zenkoku chosa (NFRJ08) Dai niji hokokusho 1: Kazoku to shigoto [Second Report of the

National Family Research of Japan, 2008 (NFRJ08). Volume 1: Family and Work]. Nihon Kazoku Shakai

Gakkai Zenkoku Kazoku Chosa Iinkai [Committee on the National Family Research of Japan, the Japan Society

of Family Sociology].

2

62

7

47

9

13

4

12

26%

31

45

44

66

55

57

73

72

7

48

10

25

32

39

16

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

20 hours or more

5 to less than 20 hours

less than 5 hours

Japan

Finland

United States

South Korea

7

work as house or yard maintenance or car repairs that is easy to combine with the demands of

their work schedule.11

Compared to women in other countries, the proportion of Japanese women performing

household work is high, with figures for “shopping for groceries” (76 percent), “caring for

sick family members” (75 percent), and “making small repairs around the house” (31 percent)

the highest among the 31 countries and regions surveyed. The proportion of Japanese women

performing other household work like “preparing the meals” (91 percent) and “doing the

household cleaning” (83 percent) was also among the highest compared to other countries.

Figure 3. Who Performs Household Tasks?

(Always me + usually me)

Figure 4 shows proportions of women doing specific household tasks in the

aforementioned four countries of Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Finland. The

difference between Japan and Finland is especially striking for “shopping for groceries” and

“caring for sick family members,” where the proportion of Japanese women performing these

tasks is high. The same applies to women working full-time, showing the same trend as in a

11

OECD, 2012. Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now (translated into Japanese by Kumiko Hamada,

2014. OECD jenda hakusho: Ima koso danjo kakusa kaisho ni muketa torikumi o. Akashi Shoten).

Shopping for groceries Caring for sick family members Making small repairs around the house

Gender gap Gender gap Gender gap

(%)

(women

minus men) (%)

(women

minus men) (%)

(men minus

women)

Japan 7 76 69 Japan 12 75 63 Japan 76 31 45

Philippines 21 69 48 Slovakia 5 70 65 South Korea 71 26 45

South Korea 8 68 60 Turkey 10 69 59 Mexico 60 23 37

China 13 63 50 South Korea 8 69 61 Venezuela 78 23 55

Australia 13 60 47 Australia 6 68 62 Turkey 78 21 57

Mexico 22 58 36 West Germany 6 67 61 Chile 70 20 50

Russia 10 57 47 Phillipines 10 67 57 Switzerland 83 15 68

Turkey 32 57 25 South Africa 11 65 54 Russia 80 13 67

Slovakia 5 55 50 Switzerland 6 64 58 South Africa 81 13 68

France 17 55 38 Chile 9 64 55 Israel 79 12 67

Switzerland 14 54 40 Czech Republic 5 64 59 Philippines 80 12 68

Czech Republic 10 52 42 Argentina 10 61 51 Spain 81 11 70

South Africa 8 52 44 Mexico 17 61 44 China 75 10 65

United States 12 51 39 Russia 5 59 54 Argentina 81 10 71

West Germany 13 49 36 France 8 58 50 Austria 86 10 76

Argentina 21 49 28 Austria 4 57 53 United States 86 9 77

Austria 9 48 39 Venezuela 15 57 42 Iceland 89 9 80

Bulgaria 16 48 32 Israel 10 53 43 West Germany 87 9 78

Iceland 17 47 30 Latvia 6 53 47 Australia 85 9 76

Norway 18 46 28 Croatia 8 53 45 Latvia 84 8 76

Chile 17 44 27 United States 7 53 46 France 83 8 75

Venezuela 29 44 15 East Germany 5 52 47 Croatia 80 7 73

Croatia 17 44 27 Poland 4 50 46 Slovakia 92 7 85

Slovenia 9 43 34 Bulgaria 11 49 38 Finland 90 7 83

Latvia 10 43 33 Norway 4 49 45 Czech Republic 84 7 77

Spain 16 42 26 Slovenia 2 47 45 Poland 90 6 84

Poland 11 41 30 Iceland 2 46 44 Slovenia 87 6 81

Sweden 17 40 23 Spain 5 46 41 East Germany 91 5 86

East Germany 13 40 27 Sweden 7 45 38 Norway 84 5 79

Finland 15 36 21 Finland 5 44 39 Bulgaria 75 4 71

Israel 28 35 7 China 10 42 32 Sweden 84 4 80

Men Women Men Women Men Women

Note: Percentage of women ranked in descending order Note: Percentage of women ranked in descending order Note: Percentage of women ranked in descending order

8

study indicating that “(in Japan) men’s frequency of doing household work does not increase

even if their wives are in full-time work.”12

Figure 4. Who Performs Household Tasks?

(Always me + usually me)

(Japan, South Korea, United States, Finland)

(3) Large Gender Difference in Feelings of Fairness about Household Work Sharing

(Japan)

The foregoing has shown that Japanese women shoulder many household work tasks, but do

they accept this as a matter of course? Asked about how they feel concerning the amount of

household work they are doing compared to what they believe is fair, 6 percent of Japanese

men think they are doing “more” (“much more” + “a bit more”) than their fair share of the

household work versus 69 percent of Japanese women who feel this way (Figure 5). The

difference between men and women, which exceeds 60 percentage points, is the highest

among the 31 countries and regions surveyed. Even in countries like Norway, Finland, and

Sweden, which are perennially top-ranked for gender equality, about half the women in those

countries feel that the division of household work is unfair compared to a much smaller

12

Inui 2011, “Seiki shugyo.”

9

proportion of men who feel the same way, but they still constitute a smaller proportion than

Japanese women.

Figure 5. Feeling of Fairness in Sharing of Household Work

I do more (much more + a bit more) than my fair share of the household work

According to NHK’s Survey on Japanese Value Orientations, the number of Japanese

who believe that men should help out in the kitchen or look after children as a matter of

course has increased substantially in the past 40 years. The proportion of women who believe

this grew from 51 percent to 90 percent, and that for men, from 56 percent to 88 percent,

indicating a changing attitude toward the gendered division of household work.13

But the

reality is that the old division of household work persists. Despite the fact that many Japanese

share the attitude that “men and women should share household work and child-rearing,” the

actual division of work within the household continues to be unequal, as many women still

perform many household tasks. This may be why many women feel that this situation is

unfair.

13

NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 2015. Gendai Nihonjin no ishiki kozo [The Structure of

Contemporary Japanese Consciousness], 8th edition. NHK Shuppan.

(%)

Men Women

Gender gap

(women

minus men)

Japan 6 69 63

Argentina 7 69 62

Austria 9 69 60

Australia 13 71 58

Czech Republic 8 61 53

Croatia 6 58 52

Philippines 24 75 51

East Germany 3 55 52

West Germany 9 59 50

South Africa 31 82 51

France 12 62 50

China 16 65 49

Chile 10 58 48

Poland 10 57 47

United States 14 61 47

Switzerland 9 55 46

Iceland 8 54 46

Norway 5 50 45

Finland 6 50 44

Bulgaria 8 50 42

Spain 5 47 42

Latvia 9 49 40

Russia 5 45 40

Sweden 8 47 39

Slovakia 9 47 38

Slovenia 10 46 36

Mexico 25 60 35

Venezuela 43 73 30

Israel 17 44 27

Turkey 36 62 26

South Korea 34 37 3

Note: Ranked in descending order of gender gap size

10

Figure 6. Who Performs Household Tasks (Shopping for groceries)

and Feeling of Fairness (Women)

AR Argentina

JP Japan

AT Austria

KR South Korea

AU Australia

LV Latvia

BG Bulgaria

MX Mexico

CH Switzerland

NO Norway

CL Chile

PH Philippines

CN China

PL Poland

CZ Czech Republic

RU Russia

DE-E East Germany

SE Sweden

DE-W West Germany

SK Slovakia

ES Spain

SI Slovenia

FI Finland

TR Turkey

FR France

US United States

HR Croatia

VE Venezuela

IL Israel

ZA South Africa

IS Iceland

In South Korea, meanwhile, where it is customary for women to also perform a large

share of household work, women’s feelings of unfairness are not as strong. For example,

plotting the connection between division of household work like shopping and so forth and

feelings of fairness/unfairness on a scatter plot reveals that South Korea differs from many

other countries in this respect (Figure 6). One theory pertaining to division of household work

(%)

Fe

elin

g o

f fairn

ess: I d

o m

ore

(mu

ch

mo

re +

a b

it mo

re) th

an

m

y fa

ir sh

are

of th

e h

ouse

hold

wo

rk

Who performs household tasks: Shopping—Always me + Usually me

(%)

11

holds that when wives perceive that household work is “women’s work,” they do not

necessarily feel that the unequal division of household work is unfair. In other words, when

wives uphold traditional gender ideology or when they do not expect their husbands to

participate in household work, they feel less unfairness even if they are performing the bulk of

household work.14

This theory could apply to South Korea. When South Korea is excluded

from the analysis, the correlation between fairness and division of household work

strengthens, with the correlation coefficient rising to 0.522 for “shopping” and to 0.491 for

“caring for sick family members.”15

Figure 7. Feeling of Fairness in Sharing of Household Work (Women, by Age Group)

I do more (much more + a bit more) than my fair share of the household work

Figure 8. Feeling of Fairness in Sharing of Household Work (Men, by Age Group)

I do less (much less + a bit less) than my fair share of the household work

14

Makiko Fuwa, Junya Tsutsui, 2010. “Kaji buntan ni taisuru fukohei-kan no kokusai hikaku bunseki” [A

Cross-National Comparison of the Perceived Fairness of the Division of Household Labor], Kazoku shakaigaku

kenkyu 22(1). 15

The correlation coefficient is 0.336 for “shopping” and 0.362 for “caring for sick family members,” including

for Korea.

12

Next, we look at results for Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Finland by age

group (49 and under, and 50–64) and gender. Respondents age 65 and over were excluded

because the sample was small. Regarding women who feel they are doing more than their

share of household work, the proportion of Japanese women is particularly high, with 77

percent aged 50–64 saying they feel a burden (Figure 7). Despite the fact that Japanese

women aged 50–64 do not spend longer than other age groups on household work, they feel a

strong sense of unfairness. Among men, on the other hand, the proportions for those aged 49

and under and those aged 50–64 who feel that they are doing less (much less + a bit less) than

their share of the household work are highest among Japanese, particularly among those in the

50–64 age group, where the proportion reaches 74 percent (Figure 8). On the one hand, many

Japanese women aged 50-64 feel unfairness, and on the other many men in the same age

group seem to realize that they are doing less than their fair share of household work.

Looking at whether there are differences in women’s perceived unfairness depending

on their employment situation, a majority (52 percent) of Japanese women working full-time

feel that they do “much more” than their share of the household work, higher than the 40

percent of Japanese women not in paid employment. No similar correlation was observed

among women in South Korea, the United States, and Finland.

3. Satisfaction with Family Life

(1) Low Satisfaction with Family Life in Japan

Thus far we have examined the gendered division of household work, and our next question is

whether there is a connection between division of household work and satisfaction with

family life. A study using data from the “Survey on Nuclear Families Today” by the Institute

for Research on Household Economics indicates that husbands’ higher participation in

household work may increase satisfaction with married life.16

In other words, more

conversation between couples and more participation in household work by husbands can lead

to appreciation of each partner as an equal, relieving wives of their burden of household work

and increasing the marital satisfaction of both husband and wife. We will examine whether

the results of the ISSP survey also point to a connection between the division of household

work and satisfaction with family life.

Figure 9 shows that 43 percent of Japanese men and 33 percent of Japanese women,

compared to the other countries surveyed, are satisfied (completely satisfied + very satisfied)

with their family life today. The gender gap is 10 percentage points, fourth largest among all

the countries surveyed.

16

Masumi Takeuchi, 2007. “Otto no sapoto ga fufu no kekkon manzoku-kan o takameru” [When Husbands

Offer Support, Marital Satisfaction Improves], in Akiko Nagai, Shigeki Matsuda, eds., Taito na fufu wa

shiawase ka [Are Couples in a Relationship of Equals Happy?]. Keiso Shobo.

13

Figure 9. Satisfaction with Family Life

Note: In descending order for “completely satisfied” + “very satisfied”

Note: No data for South Africa

(2) Background Factors Influencing Satisfaction

Overall Trends

In the case of women, there is a negative correlation between satisfaction with family life

(completely satisfied + very satisfied + fairly satisfied) and performance of all household

tasks, such as shopping, meal preparation and so on (Figures 10, 11, 12). In other words, in

countries where the proportion of women performing household work by themselves is high,

satisfaction with family life tends to be low.

28%

18

22

22

26

40

22

36

20

33

22

30

11

20

14

23

13

13

18

16

19

23

16

17

16

19

12

9

9

12

56

64

53

52

48

33

48

33

49

34

44

35

53

43

48

38

47

46

41

41

38

28

34

29

26

20

23

25

24

16

13

17

15

23

22

22

24

23

24

27

26

29

29

24

34

27

34

27

34

33

36

40

43

40

43

46

49

51

44

43

2

1

7

2

4

4

5

4

4

5

4

5

5

7

3

8

3

12

6

5

6

5

5

9

11

11

11

11

10

18

1

0 2

1

1

0

1 2

1

1 3

2

2

4

0 3

3

2

2

2

2

3

2

3

3

2

3

4

9

9

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

1

0

1

1

1

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

0

1

0

2

1

Argentina

Iceland

Mexico

United States

Switzerland

Venezuela

Israel

Philippines

Chile

Croatia

Australia

Poland

Norway

Sweden

Austria

Bulgaria

West Germany

Slovakia

East Germany

Finland

Spain

France

Slovenia

Czech Republic

Latvia

Russia

Turkey

China

Japan

South Korea

Men Women

Japan

Japan

14

Among men, on the other hand, there was a positive correlation between household

work like “making small repairs around the house” (0.338) and “shopping for groceries”

(0.301), and satisfaction with family life. The level of satisfaction tends to be high in

countries where large proportions of men perform these tasks.

Figure 10. Correlation between Who Performs Household Tasks and Satisfaction

with Family Life (Women)

“Always me” + “Usually me”

Satisfaction with family life

Completely satisfied

+ very satisfied + fairly satisfied

Completely satisfied

+ very satisfied

Shopping for groceries -0.587 -0.432

Preparing the meals -0.570 -0.498

Making small repairs around the house

-0.469 -0.270

Doing the household cleaning -0.397 -0.431

Doing the laundry -0.358 -0.314

Caring for sick family members -0.354 -0.174

Figure 11. Who Performs Household Tasks (Shopping for Groceries)

and Satisfaction with Family Life (Women)

Sa

tisfa

ctio

n w

ith fa

mily

life

(Com

ple

tely

sa

tisfie

d +

ve

ry s

atis

fied

+ fa

irly s

atis

fied

)

Who performs household tasks: Shopping “Always me” + “Usually me”

(%)

(%)

15

Figure 12. Who Performs Household Tasks (Preparing the Meals)

and Satisfaction with Family Life (Women)

AR Argentina

JP Japan

AT Austria

KR South Korea

AU Australia

LV Latvia

BG Bulgaria

MX Mexico

CH Switzerland

NO Norway

CL Chile

PH Philippines

CN China

PL Poland

CZ Czech Republic

RU Russia

DE-E East Germany

SE Sweden

DE-W West Germany

SK Slovakia

ES Spain

SI Slovenia

FI Finland

TR Turkey

FR France

US United States

HR Croatia

VE Venezuela

IL Israel

IS Iceland

Trends by Country

Next, we move on to factors influencing satisfaction with family life in Japan, South Korea,

the United States, and Finland. Satisfaction with family life undoubtedly depends on

Sa

tisfa

ctio

n w

ith fa

mily

life

(C

om

ple

tely

sa

tisfie

d +

ve

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atis

fied +

fairly

satis

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)

Who performs household tasks: Preparing the Meals “Always me” + “Usually me”

(%)

(%)

16

emotional factors like amount of communication between husband and wife, caring for each

other and so forth, but we probed how well satisfaction with family life can be predicted from

the question items in this survey. We used multiple regression analysis, with satisfaction with

family life as the dependent variable, and gender, age, income, whether the family has

children, and items related to sharing of household work as independent variables17

(Figure

13).

Figure 13. Multiple Regression Analysis of Satisfaction with Family Life

(The figures in the table are standard partial regression coefficients)

Independent variable Note Japan South Korea

United States

Finland

Gender 1. Female -0.031 -0.186** 0.085 0.049

Age -0.032 -0.197** -0.054 -0.068

Preschool-age children 1. Yes 0.099* -0.059 -0.011 -0.063

Children of elementary school age to age 17

1. Yes -0.015 -0.143** -0.044 -0.054

Income 1. Household income in upper bracket

0.128** 0.105** -0.004 -0.051

Proportion of income 1. My spouse has no income + I have a much higher income

0.006 -0.034 -0.070 -0.035

Income management

1. I manage all the money -0.009 0.060 -0.031 -0.104*

1. My spouse manages all the money

-0.011 0.062 0.076 -0.035

1. Each spouse keeps his/her own money separate

-0.043 -0.068 -0.186** -0.095*

Weekly working hours 1. 34 hours or less 0.008 -0.054 0.187** 0.109**

1. 35 hours or more 0.018 -0.023 0.122** 0.034

Who Performs Household Tasks

Division of household work factor score

0.036 0.066 0.045 0.069

Fairness in sharing of household work

1. I do much more + a bit more -0.237** -0.105** -0.160** -0.241**

Decision-maker for weekend activities

1. Mostly me -0.053 -0.058 -0.121** -0.025

Adjusted R-square 0.078 0.087 0.097 0.084

F value 16.466** 12.981** 12.822** 14.212**

Note: p <0.01** p<0.05*

In weekly working hours, analysis was conducted with respondents with “no occupation” and income

management with “jointly managed” (all income + a portion of income) as reference categories.

The results of this analysis show that in every country studied there is a relation

between the perception of fairness regarding the division of household work and satisfaction

with family life. In other words, if a person feels that the division of household work is unfair,

satisfaction with family life is negatively affected. In Japan, household income and the

presence of preschool children in the household are also influencing factors, and respondents

17

Satisfaction with family life was measured, with “completely dissatisfied” assigned 1 point and “completely

satisfied” assigned 7 points. Household income higher than the median value for each country was handled as

“household income in upper bracket.” For items related to division of household work, factor scores were used

as independent variables. The principal factor analysis was used for factor extraction, and Promax rotation was

used for factor rotation.

17

with a high income or with preschool children show greater satisfaction with family life. In

South Korea, similarly to Japan, higher household income is a predictor of better satisfaction

with family life, whereas being male, being older, and having school-age children negatively

affects satisfaction. In the United States, being the decision-maker in choosing shared

weekend activities affects satisfaction, with respondents saying they are “mostly” responsible

for planning such activities reporting less satisfaction. Work situation can also affect

satisfaction with family life, as both people working 34 hours or less or 35 hours or more

show more satisfaction compared to those who are not employed. This suggests that in the

United States, working, no matter how long or short the hours, improves satisfaction with

family life. In Finland, among those who either manage household income entirely by

themselves, or where each spouse manages his or her own income, satisfaction tends to be

lower than when income is managed jointly. And those who work 34 hours or less per week

are more satisfied with family life compared to those who are not employed.

The factors contributing to satisfaction with family life differ in each of the four

countries, and further research is needed. In addition, the adjusted R-square value, which

indicates how well the model works, is under 0.1 and thus the validity of the model may be

low. Despite this, the fact that perceived fairness in division of household work is relatively

influential in all the countries hints that increased participation of husbands in household

work can alleviate feelings of unfairness and help increase satisfaction with family life.

4. Conclusion

We have seen that in many families in Japan, the gendered division in which the husband is

the breadwinner and the wife is the homemaker persists, and many women feel that the

division of household work is unfair. A distinguishing feature of Japan is that when men and

women working full-time are compared, women handle the overwhelming share of household

work. On the other hand, Japanese men were aware of not doing their fair share of household

work.

Despite the fact that the awareness in society of gendered division of household work is

fading, gender roles continue to be entrenched in the family, possibly resulting in the

perceived unfairness and dissatisfaction of women. It is true that satisfaction with family life

cannot be explained solely from division of household work, but if men shared more of the

work, women would be more satisfied with family life. A study indicates that in couples

where the husband “often” performs household work or engages in child care, more people

say they plan to have children in the future.18

Amid concerns that the productive age

population will decline due to the rapid drop in the birthrate and the increasing number of

elderly persons, the falling birthrate could be arrested if more men actively performed

household work.

In August 2015, the Japanese government enacted the Act of Promotion of Women’s

Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, “to achieve a society in which all women

can shine,” but for women to take advantage of employment opportunities, it is essential to

shorten the long working hours of Japanese men and lessen the household work and

child-rearing burden placed on women. In a Cabinet Office survey, when asked a

multiple-answer question about barriers to advancement faced by women, half the

respondents, the largest proportion, answered “insufficient support on the part of husbands

18

National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 2014. Dai go-kai zenkoku katei doko chosa,

2013 [The 5th National Survey on Family in Japan, 2013]. Tabulation results when the wife is aged under 40.

18

and other family members for child-rearing, caring for [ill or aged] family members, and

household work.”19

Many companies and organizations offer programs promoting “work-life balance” to

enable individuals to juggle work and family life, but today it is overwhelmingly women who

avail themselves of measures like child care leave or teleworking. Some are concerned that

these measures, ironically, are unwittingly reinforcing women’s traditional role as caregivers

and perpetuating the gender gap.20

Institutional changes, such as shortening long work hours

and encouraging men to take child care leave, are essential for making more progress toward

work-life balance. Additionally, it is not enough for men to simply be aware that they are not

performing household work; there must be a change in mindset so that men will actually

assume a share of the burden.

This paper has focused on analyzing the connection between the heavy burden of

household work on women and level of satisfaction with family life. Discussion of why there

is such a gap between men’s awareness and behavior as far as sharing household work is

concerned is an issue that merits further exploration.

19

Cabinet Office, 2014. Josei no katsuyaku suishin ni kansuru yoron chosa [Public Opinion Survey on the

Advancement of Women]. 20

OECD 2012, “Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now.”

19

Survey Outline by Country

Year of fieldwork No. of completed

cases

No. of respondents

living with spouse

Data collection

method

Iceland 2013-2014 1,175 748 Face-to-face

United States 2012 1,313 794 Face-to-face

Argentina 2012-2013 977 546 Face-to-face

Israel 2011-2012 1,220 794 Face-to-face

Australia 2012-2013 1,612 1,076 Self-completion

by mail

Austria 2013 1,182 688 Face-to-face

South Korea 2012 1,396 813 Face-to-face

Croatia 2013 1,000 619 Face-to-face

Switzerland 2013 1,237 817 Face-to-face

Sweden 2012 1,060 707 Self-completion

by mail

Spain 2012 2,595 1,703 Face-to-face

Slovakia 2012 1,128 669 Face-to-face

Slovenia 2012 1,034 655 Face-to-face

Czech Republic 2012 1,804 1,148 Face-to-face

China 2012 5,946 4,919 Face-to-face

Chile 2012 1,564 850 Face-to-face

West Germany 2012 1,208 771

Self-completion

with interviewer

involvement

East Germany 2012 558 367

Self-completion

with interviewer

involvement

Turkey 2013 1,620 1,117 Face-to-face

Japan 2012 1,212 761

Self-completion

with interviewer

involvement

Norway 2012 1,444 1,034 Self-completion

by mail or email

Philippines 2012 1,200 887 Face-to-face

Finland 2012 1,171 801 Self-completion

by mail

France 2012 2,409 1,566 Self-completion

by mail

Bulgaria 2011 1,003 618 Face-to-face

Venezuela 2013 1,016 421 Face-to-face

Poland 2013 1,115 707 Face-to-face

South Africa 2012-2013 2,547 1,061 Face-to-face

Mexico 2013 1,527 928 Face-to-face

Latvia 2013 1,004 548 Face-to-face

Russia 2012 1,525 778 Face-to-face