Gap and Convergence in the Gendered Division of Labour
Gap and Convergence in the Gendered Division of Labour

Summary/Abstract: When using comparative glasses for women and men, the life-courses of the two genders are frequently defined and described by “gaps”, “inequality” or “discrimination”. Gender mainstreaming is obvious in most European strategies, programs or directives and national governments and stakeholders from across the civilized world decide, act and legislate preoccupied by the “gender issue”. For many years the roles of women and men were clearly delimitated, until the last decades, when the boundaries between what should be assigned to the two genders started to become blurrier and questionable, due to scientific, technological, economic, demographic and alert social transformations. For Romania, the period after the revolution of 1989 was marked by roles` reconfigurations, because economic and political instability, lower state control concerning both work and family, the opened boundaries, followed by European integration, influenced all life sectors. Considering such trends, this article aims to describe the actual context regarding the gendered housework and care distribution, in the broader framework of labour division, using both previous empirical findings and data issued at European level. The analysis will also involve the summarization of existing theoretical perspectives regarding the subject, together with European policies concerning gender strategies. Although the general trend is towards convergence, especially when looking at paid-work, housework and children upbringing are still defined by gender imparities, even if the gap diminished slightly in this domain also, with various patterns among individuals, cohorts and countries.

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