Abstract
An analysis of the survey data for employed mothers of young children in urban areas in the three countries demonstrates that they undertake disproportionate shares of domestic labour, compared to their spouses. China is most distinctive, however, in that women there combine full-time paid work with domestic roles and in that their spouses play a greater domestic role than in the other two cases. Gender role segregation in these spheres is greatest in Japan. The `housewife' role is endorsed in Japan but rejected in China. The British situation is closer to the Japanese than the Chinese one and is characterised by the resort to part-time work, which is itself more associated with gender role segregation than is full-time work. Chinese women are most integrated into the employment sphere and display most discontent with gender injustice at work, while the Japanese and British women express relative levels of satisfaction with their more limited employment involvement. The analysis concludes with a discussion of some of the historical and institutional factors which have shaped these patterns and indicates the differing influences for change and stability in these social roles in each society.
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