Who Does What? The Distribution of Housework and Childcare in Portuguese Families

Abstract

An increasing number of studies have sought to explore the gender gap in the distribution of family responsibilities. While men and women have become more similar in their egalitarian views and involvement toward paid work and family responsibilities, mothers continue to bear the brunt of housework and caregiving responsibilities. The present study explored the allocation of family work among Portuguese couples and the social–psychological characteristics associated with it. A sample of 153 parents with young children completed questionnaires. The results revealed that parents’ gender ideologies and biological essentialism were related and predicted their involvement in childcare and housework. Overall, the findings shed light on the mechanisms that shape the division of childcare and housework and suggest pathways for achieving greater gender equality within the home.

1. Introduction

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant narrowing of the gender gap in both paid work and childcare, with men and women becoming more similar in their involvement in family responsibilities (Allen and Stevenson 2023; Pailhé et al. 2021; Schoppe-Sullivan and Fagan 2020). This shift is primarily driven by the increased participation of women in the workforce and the growing involvement of men in childcare (Schoppe-Sullivan and Fagan 2020). However, traditional gender roles continue to dominate family dynamics, with mothers still bearing the brunt of housework and caregiving responsibilities (Horne et al. 2018; Negraia et al. 2018). Despite this, there is a growing belief among parents that caregiving and breadwinning should be shared equally, reflecting a shift in cultural attitudes toward motherhood and fatherhood (Harrington 2022; Knight and Brinton 2017). Previous research has mainly drawn on economic resources and structural constraints to analyze and explain the gender gap in the distribution of family roles (e.g., Hook 2012; Sullivan and Gershuny 2016). Consequently, there is considerably less understanding of how social–psychological mechanisms influence the way couples divide responsibilities. Additionally, most studies have been conducted in the anglophone world, highlighting the need for more country-specific research (e.g., Chesley and Flood 2017; Kramer and Kramer 2016).

The current study aims to better understand how Portuguese parents distribute childcare and housework tasks and the social–psychological characteristics associated with their involvement in caregiving responsibilities. This is especially significant, as recent studies show that couples with an unequal division of childcare are more likely to face conflicts, frustrations, lower relationship quality, and lower life satisfaction, compared to those in more equal partnerships (e.g., Pinho et al. 2024).

• Gender Ideologies and Involvement in Family Work

Gender ideologies refer to “individuals’ level of support for a division of paid work and family responsibilities that is based on this notion of separate spheres [for men and women]” (Davis and Greenstein 2009, p. 89). From this perspective, couples with traditional gender beliefs typically assign responsibilities based on conventional gender roles, with fathers acting as primary earners and mothers as primary caregivers, while couples with more egalitarian views tend to share these roles more equally. Research on childcare involvement and gender ideologies varies. Some studies show a link between egalitarian ideologies and more equal involvement among parents (Bulanda 2004; Wang and Cheung 2023), while other studies found that gender attitudes do not significantly account for differences in childcare involvement (Kuo et al. 2018; Ross-Plourde et al. 2022).

In their comparison of parents in role-reversed arrangements to semi-traditional parents, the authors discovered that those in role-reversed setups held more egalitarian gender ideologies. Additionally, qualitative research on equal-sharers and role-reversers revealed a “half and half” parenting philosophy within these couples, where mothering and fathering were viewed as equally interchangeable roles, each contributing one-half to a child’s upbringing (Gaunt and Deutsch 2024).

• Biological Essentialism and the Division of Family Responsibilities

Biological essentialist beliefs suggest that gender differences go beyond physical characteristics, asserting that men and women are born with distinct predispositions for different roles (Rudman and Glick 2008). Couples’ beliefs of biological differences and their implications often serve to justify the way childcare responsibilities are allocated (Deutsch 1999). Parents who subscribe to essentialist beliefs typically exhibit a less egalitarian distribution of housework and childcare, with women dedicating more time to caregiving and taking on more childcare tasks while men’s involvement tends to be limited (Gaunt 2006; Gaunt and Deutsch 2024; Thorsteinsen et al. 2022). Those effects were also mediated by mothers’ work hours (Gaunt and Deutsch 2024).

When essentialist beliefs were explored in a sample of role-reversed parents (Pinho and Gaunt 2024), it was found that they endorsed biological essentialism less than semi-traditional parents. In a similar vein, Liss and colleagues discovered a stronger endorsement of essentialist views among stay-at-home mothers compared to those who worked for pay (Liss et al. 2013). Additionally, qualitative research on equal-sharers identified non-essentialist views of men’s and women’s parenting as a key factor supporting an equal division of childcare (Deutsch and Gaunt 2020).

2. The Present Study

To enhance our understanding of the division of paid work and childcare among Portuguese families, the following research questions were addressed:

• How do parents distribute childcare and housework tasks?
• What socio-psychological characteristics are associated with and predict their involvement in childcare?

These questions were explored in a sample of Portuguese parents. In Portugal, like in other Western nations, there has been a significant increase in the participation of women in the workforce over the last few decades (CIG 2023). For example, in 1992 the percentage of employed women was 40.9%, and it grew to 62.3% in 2024 (INE 2001; Pordata 2025). As a result, the dual-earner family pattern has become the most frequent one, and 87% of Portuguese mothers are in the labor force (EIGE 2024c). Despite liberal views and high employment rates, Portuguese women continue to bear the primary responsibility for housework and childcare to a similar extent as women in other European countries (EIGE 2024b).

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Participants and Procedure

Data were collected between July 2024 and April 2025 from 153 Portuguese parents (80 women and 73 men) who were married or cohabiting with their different-gender partner. Parents had at least one biological child aged between 3 years and 0 months and 4 years and 11 months. Although limiting the child’s age restricted the sample to somewhat younger couples, this captured the life stage when childcare needs are most demanding and work–family conflict is highest. The participants’ socio-demographic characteristics can be found in

Table 1. The demographic characteristics of the participants.

	Mothers (n = 80)	Fathers (n = 73)
Number of children
1	41.3%	41.1%
2	50%	43.8%
3	8.7%	15.1%
Education
Less than high school/secondary education	5.1%	17.8%
High school/secondary education diploma	17.9%	19.2%
Post-secondary non-higher education	11.5%	8.2%
Higher education/academic degree	65.5%	54.8%
Monthly personal income
≤EUR 590	2.6%	4.2%
EUR 590–EUR 891	20.8%	11.3%
EUR 891–EUR 1688	50.6%	40.8%
EUR 1688–EUR 2083	11.7%	11.3%
EUR 2083–EUR 3071	6.5%	18.3%
EUR 3071–EUR 6720	7.8%	14.1%

.

The participants’ ages ranged from 24 to 53 (M = 38.41, SD = 5.12). The number of children in the family ranged from 1 to 3 (M = 1.71, SD = 0.67). Participants were recruited via advertisements in private and public childcare centers and pre-schools in the north region of Portugal. Participation in the study was voluntary, anonymous, and lasted an average of 10 min.

Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Lisbon (13_CEI2024) before the commencement of the study.

3.2. Measures

Time Investment in Childcare. Time investment in childcare was assessed. Participants were asked to indicate the number of weekly hours they spend alone with their child when the child is awake and the number of hours their partner spends alone with the child.

Involvement in Childcare and Housework Tasks. The division of couples’ housework and childcare was evaluated using a “Who-does-what?” measure (Gaunt and Pinho 2018). The scale included 24 tasks, and the participants were asked: “In the division of labor between you and your partner, which of you does each of these tasks?”. Responses were indicated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = Almost always my partner to 5 = Almost always myself. Participants could also select 9 if the task was not applicable to their child. These responses were treated as missing data. The who-does-what scale comprises four sub-dimensions: housework (e.g., cooking, cleaning), physical care (e.g., feeding, bathing), emotional care (e.g., playing, helping with social/emotional problems), and responsibility (e.g., planning activities, choosing daycare). Average scores for items within each sub-dimension were calculated. Cronbach’s alpha for the four sub-dimensions was 0.74, 0.90, 0.61, and 0.92, respectively. An average of all childcare tasks was also computed to create a total childcare involvement score. Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was 0.95.

Gender Ideologies. Gender ideologies were evaluated using a scale adopted from Gaunt (2006), which contains five items reflecting traditional and non-traditional ideologies (e.g., “It is best for everyone if the man earns a living and the woman takes care of the home and children”). Responses were indicated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree. Answers were recoded for a higher score to reflect more egalitarian attitudes toward gender. The average score was computed, and Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was 0.62.

Biological Essentialism. Parents’ perceptions of men and women as essentially different in their predispositions to parenthood were assessed using Gaunt’s (2006) measure. The scale is composed of seven items reflecting different views of mothers’ and fathers’ inherent abilities to perform childcare (e.g., “Mothers are instinctively better caretakers than fathers”; “Fathers have to learn what mothers are able to do naturally in terms of childcare”). Responses were indicated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree and recoded so that a higher score reflected higher biological essentialist beliefs. The seven items’ average score was computed to measure the participants’ biological essentialist beliefs. Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was 0.74.

Attitudes Toward the Father. A 4-item scale was applied to measure attitudes concerning the paternal role and importance of the father’s involvement in childcare (e.g., “Fathers should be as involved in caring for their children as mothers”). It was adapted from Palkovitz (1984) and Beitel and Parke (1998), and responses were indicated on a scale from 1 = Disagree completely to 5 = Agree completely. The average score for the four items was computed to measure the participants’ attitudes toward the father. Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was 0.64.

Socio-demographic Variables. Participants indicated their age, occupation, and level of education. Participants also reported the gender and age of their youngest child, the total number of children in the household, and their individual monthly income on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 (less than EUR 590) to 7 (more than EUR 6720).

4. Results

Means, standard deviations, and Pearson’s correlations among gender ideologies, biological essentialism, attitudes towards the father, involvement in childcare and housework, and socio-demographic variables are presented in

Table 2. Means, standard deviations, and correlations between the study variables.

										Fathers’
Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	M	SD
1. Gender ideologies	--	−0.60 ***	0.48 ***	0.25 *	0.12	−0.11	−0.34 **	0.03	0.21	4.19	0.57
2. Biological essentialism	−0.33 **	--	−0.60 ***	−0.25 *	−0.08	0.03	0.19	0.07	−0.14	2.54	0.64
3. Attitudes toward the father	0.23 *	−0.40 ***	--	0.13	0.10	0.05	−0.02	−0.32 **	0.11	4.40	0.41
4. Childcare tasks	−0.06	0.22 *	−0.12	--	0.37 **	−0.02	−0.13	−0.17	0.10	2.54	0.79
5. Housework	−0.02	0.26 *	−0.10	0.34 **	--	0.02	−0.09	−0.22	0.15	2.46	0.79
6. Childcare hours—self	−0.07	0.10	−0.10	0.03	0.06	--	0.64 ***	−0.15	0.01	13.06	16.84
7. Childcare hours—partner	−0.03	−0.04	−0.16	−0.11	−0.04	0.57 ***	--	−0.07	−0.16	16.77	15.81
8. Age	0.05	0.11	−0.06	−0.09	0.13	−0.03	0.07	--	0.01	39.51	5.68
9. Education	0.20	−0.25 *	0.23 *	−0.15	−0.13	−0.23 *	−0.18	0.33 **	--	6.27	2.54
Mothers’ M	4.44	2.62	4.54	3.72	3.79	18.14	11.11	37.41	6.94
Mothers’ SD	0.51	0.61	0.43	0.47	0.78	17.44	13.99	4.35	2.12

Note: Higher scores on gender ideologies indicate higher levels of egalitarian beliefs; for all the other measures higher scores reflect higher levels of the construct. Correlations for fathers are presented above the diagonal; for mothers, they are presented below the diagonal. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.

. Correlation analyses were conducted independently for fathers and mothers.

The analysis showed that women’s biological essentialist beliefs were positively correlated with their performance of childcare (r = 0.22, p < 0.05) and housework (r = 0.26, p < 0.05), suggesting that the more they endorsed biological essentialism, the higher their involvement in childcare and housework.

Men’s gender ideologies were positively related to their performance of childcare tasks (r = 0.25, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with their partners’ hours of childcare (r = −0.34, p < 0.01). These results indicate that fathers with more egalitarian gender beliefs tend to be more involved in childcare, while their partners’ involvement in childcare decreases. Furthermore, men’s biological essentialism was negatively related to their childcare participation (r = −0.25, p < 0.05), indicating that the more essentialist beliefs they endorsed, the lower their involvement in childcare tasks.

Consistent with previous studies, more educated women tended to hold less biological essentialist views, more favorable perceptions regarding the paternal role, and they tended to spend fewer hours performing childcare (e.g., Pinho and Gaunt 2024).

Gender differences in different types of childcare tasks and housework involvement were examined using independent sample t-tests (Figure 1). The results showed that mothers performed significantly more housework (M = 3.79) (t(151) = −10.45, p < 0.001), physical care (M = 3.76) (t(151) = −11.19, p < 0.001), and emotional care (M = 3.46) (t(145) = −9.10, p < 0.001) and assumed greater responsibility (M = 3.90) (t(151) = −17.81, p < 0.001) than fathers (M = 2.46, M = 2.54, M = 2.78 and M = 2.30, respectively).

A similar analysis was conducted on gender ideologies, biological essentialism, and attitudes toward the father (see Figure 2). T-test comparisons showed that women (M = 4.44) held higher egalitarian gender ideologies than men (M = 4.19) (t(151) = −2.82, p = 0.005).

The findings also revealed that men and women expressed a low tendency to endorse biological essentialism and did not significantly differ in their views (t(151) = −0.80, p = 0.43) and perceived to a similar extent the significance of the paternal role and its importance in childcare involvement (t(139) = −1.89, p = 0.061).

To determine the contribution of gender ideologies, biological essentialism, and attitudes towards the father to each form of parental involvement, a set of multiple regression analyses were conducted for fathers and mothers separately (

Table 3. Hierarchical regression analyses predicting involvement in childcare and housework from gender ideologies, biological essentialism, and attitudes toward the father.

	Childcare Tasks			Housework			Hours of Care—Self			Hours of Care—Partner
Model	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
Mothers
Gender ideologies	−0.06	0.01	0.02	−0.02	0.07	0.07	−0.07	−0.03	−0.02	−0.03	−0.04	−0.03
Biological essentialism	--	0.23	0.21	--	0.28 *	0.28 *	--	0.08	0.06	--	−0.05	−0.14
Attitudes towards the father	--	--	−0.04	--	--	−0.01	--	--	−0.07	--	--	−0.20
R2	0.01	0.05	0.05	0.01	0.07	0.07	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.04
F(3,79)			1.36			1.90			0.35			0.89
Fathers
Gender ideologies	0.25 *	0.16	0.17	0.12	0.12	0.10	−0.11	−0.16	−0.19	−0.34 **	−0.35 *	−0.39 **
Biological essentialism	--	−0.15	−0.18	--	−0.01	0.03	--	−0.07	−0.01	--	−0.02	0.10
Attitudes towards the father	--	--	−0.06	--	--	0.07	--	--	0.14	--	--	0.24
R2	0.06 *	0.08	0.08	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.02	0.03	0.11 **	0.11 *	0.15 *
F(3,72)			2.04			0.41			0.62			3.77 *

Note: Standardized beta coefficients are reported. Model 1: gender ideologies only. Model 2: gender ideologies entered first, followed by biological essentialism. Model 3: gender ideologies and biological essentialism are followed by attitudes toward the father. * p < 0.05, two-tailed; ** p < 0.01, two-tailed.

). Interestingly, the results indicate that biological essentialism was a significant predictor in mothers’ involvement in housework, suggesting that women’s essentialist perceptions predicted their higher share of household tasks. For men, the regression equations of fathers’ involvement in childcare tasks and their partners’ hours spent performing childcare on gender ideologies (Model 1) were significant. Gender ideologies were a significant predictor in these equations, suggesting that the more men endorsed egalitarian gender ideologies, the greater their share of childcare tasks and the fewer hours their partner provided childcare.

5. Discussion

The present study examined how Portuguese parents distribute childcare and housework tasks and the social–psychological characteristics associated with their involvement in different caregiving responsibilities. The findings showed that parents’ gender ideologies and biological essentialism were related and predicted their involvement in childcare and housework. For women, higher endorsement of biological essentialism was related to their higher involvement in childcare and predicted their higher performance of housework tasks. For men, higher endorsement of egalitarian gender beliefs was associated and predicted their higher involvement in childcare and a lower involvement in childcare by their partner. Furthermore, men’s biological essentialism was negatively related to their childcare participation, indicating that the more essentialist beliefs they endorsed, the lower their involvement in childcare tasks. This is consistent with previous research that showed mothers’ and fathers’ lower egalitarian and essentialist beliefs to be associated with a more “traditional” division of roles (e.g., Gaunt and Deutsch 2024; Ross-Plourde et al. 2022).

Although mothers and fathers believed to a similar extent that men and women are equally capable of nurturing and believed in the importance of fathers being involved in caring for their children, there was a noticeable discrepancy between these beliefs and the actual division of childcare and housework tasks in the couples, with women still performing significantly more housework and childcare (e.g., Deutsch 1999; Pinho and Gaunt 2024). Echoing previous research that demonstrates that responsibility for management and planning remains the most gendered domain of childcare (Deutsch and Gaunt 2020; Gaunt et al. 2024), fathers were mostly involved in emotional and physical care and least involved in responsibility-related tasks. These results extend the literature on gender differences in parents’ involvement in family labor and the role played by social–psychological characteristics (e.g., Horne et al. 2018; Negraia et al. 2018; Wang and Cheung 2023).

Like other countries, the gender gap appeared to be slower to close for housework than childcare (EIGE 2024a). While childcare is central to societal expectations of parenthood, housework is not viewed in the same way. Compared to childcare, housework is often overlooked, less valued, and typically involves unpleasant tasks, with rewards that are largely external. Therefore, despite egalitarian views being held by men and women, men remain less involved in family work.

Taken together, these results provide a higher understanding of the current division of family work among Portuguese families and further contribute to our knowledge of the gender gap in the allocation of family roles. Specifically, despite no significant differences in overall biological essentialist perceptions, the results show that women endorse to a higher extent the beliefs that mothers are instinctively better caregivers than fathers and that mothers have superior instincts to care for their babies. Therefore, the innate gender differences appear to impact women’s involvement in housework tasks. This adds to the previous literature by demonstrating how the dismissal of biological essentialism, not only gender ideologies, is a critical prerequisite for establishing a more equitable division of family labor.

Pre-natal and parenting intervention programs could be structured to address essentialist beliefs, as parents would benefit from challenging the notion that caregiving is innate, fixed, and biologically determined. The programs could further encourage gender-neutral parenting practices and aid parents in realizing that behavior often reflects socialization, help partners communicate and agree on expectations of greater sharing, and provide strategies to implement them in their household.

The results highlight which aspects remain resistant to change and the socio-psychological characteristics that affect couples’ decisions on the performance of childcare and housework.

6. Limitations and Future Research

The limitations of this study must be considered. First, the reliance on self-report measures represents a methodological issue, as social desirability could affect single-source self-reports. Future research would benefit from integrating diverse measurement methods, including qualitative interviews. In addition, future research would gain from exploring how couples address differences in their expectations of role sharing. Another limitation is the cross-sectional nature of this study, which prevents the extraction of causal conclusions with confidence. Our sample had a slight over-representation of parents with a higher-education degree. Previous research has shown that highly educated families are less prone to endorse traditional gender attitudes (e.g., Karre 2015; Pinho and Gaunt 2024). Further research is needed to explore the role of different characteristics (e.g., social position, ethnicity, family structures, and sexual orientation) in parenting practices and ideologies.

7. Conclusions

Overall, this study emphasizes how gender ideologies, biological essentialist perceptions, and attitudes toward the paternal role influence the division of family labor. It starts to unravel the underlying mechanisms that enable parents to move beyond gender as a framework for organizing tasks while also suggesting pathways for achieving greater gender equality within the home.