Teenage Girls and Housework in Irish Society

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine girls' participation in domestic work in Irish households. The research supports other research in this field which demonstrates that girls' responsibility for domestic chores outweighs that of boys. However, the main thrust of the article is to examine girls' attitudes to the persistence of gender inequality in relation to domestic labour. In this regard, two key themes are addressed. The first is girls' attitudes to the domestic division of labour between their parents and their perceptions of fairness regarding how domestic tasks are allocated. The second is girls' attitudes to change, particularly the extent to which they feel that Irish society is beginning to challenge common taken-for-granted assumptions regarding male and female work in the household. The research suggests that while girls hold optimistic attitudes towards a dilution of the traditional gendered division of domestic labour in their future households, existing practices among themselves and their parents appear influenced by traditional gender expectations.