The Attitude of Married Men towards Gender Division of Labor and their Experiences in Sharing Household Tasks with their Marital Spouses in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to assess the attitude of married men towards gender division of labor and their experiences in sharing household tasks with their marital spouses. Quantitative data were collected from randomly selected married men in Wolaita Sodo town, analyzed by SPSS software, and presented using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. It was found that respondents have positive sex role and family role orientations (mean=2.8, St.dev=.469). It was also found that majority (86.1%) of respondents reported to have the experience of sharing household tasks with their spouse. In addition, the patterns of gender division of labor among survey participants show that 37.2% disclosed to have an egalitarian division of both the household and the public tasks. Moreover, laundering of clothes has been a household task that most respondents (76.1%) commonly do, followed by cleaning a house (63.6%), feeding children (59.3%), and making shiro wot (55.4%). Conversely, baking enjera has been a household task that respondents least want to do (13%). Coefficients of regression regarding gender role attitude of respondents and their experiences of engaging in household tasks revealed that respondents’ attitude towards gender role attitude is significantly associated with their current number of children (R=.093; P<.001), their wives’ current employment status (R=.313; P<.001), and wife’s educational status (R= -.145; P<.01). Married men in Wolaita Sodo town have positive gender role orientations and high experiences of sharing household tasks with their spouses.