by Jamin Shih
This topic has always interested me because I've felt its effects first hands. The majority of, if not all, chores and jobs are gendered. That is, it has been decided by our society that they are either a "man's job" or a "woman's job" and this has implications both in the home and on the unofficial job market. As many adolescents grow into their teenage years, they'll search for jobs. However, if their job interests do not line up with the genderedness of the jobs, then they may have a difficult time finding one.
There was an article that I read back when I was a child about how girls were rarely hired for mowing the lawn or shoveling snow whereas boys were rarely hired to babysit or watch pets. This hurts both genders because they are limited to jobs that society tells them are appropriate- similarly to some aspects of the adult job market.
This translates to chores as well. Young girls are instructed to do such chores as mop the floor, help cook dinner, and wash the dishes whereas young boys are told to mow the lawn, take out the trash, and shovel the snow. While both boys and girls are generally doing the same number of jobs, it is important to look at the time commitment that creates an inequality between the two.
"Girls'" chores are those that must be done everyday. Sometimes even multiple times per day! Boys chores are often weekly events. Thus, boys tend to do fewer hours of chores per week than girls. This is again due to the genderedness of jobs. Boys who want to babysit [or like to wash dishes] will be hard-pressed to find jobs that fit that just as girls who prefer physical labor like mowing the lawn.
Unfortunately, I could not find the academic article I was referring to, but I found an article that has roughly the same information and quotes from the one I read a while ago. This can be found by clicking here.
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