Division of Household Labour and Fertility Outcomes Among Dual‐Income Australian Couples

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Kristin Snopkowski
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8462.12540

The Australian Economic Review, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 524–537 DOI: 10.1111/1467-8462.12540

Division of Household Labour and Fertility Outcomes Among

Dual‐Income Australian Couples

Kristin Snopkowski*

Abstract

Gender revolution theories of fertility posit

that when employed women have extensive

child care and household responsibilities, they

opt to reduce family size. This study examines

how household gender inequality influences

decisions to have children. Several possible

mediators, including wellbeing, relationship

quality, and changes in desired family size,

are examined. Results from the Household,

Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia

(HILDA) Survey show that household in-

equality reduces the likelihood of third births

when both parents work full‐time. This is

mediated by relationship satisfaction: when

men contribute more to household labour,

their partners are more satisfied, which is

associated with increased fertility.

1. Introduction

Family size, measured as the number of

children born, has declined dramatically over

the past 60 years. Total fertility rate (TFR) is a

standardised measure of family size, calcu-

lated as the average number of children a

woman would bear if she survived through the

end of the reproductive age span, experiencing

at each age the age‐specific fertility rate of

that period. In 1960, the global TFR was

approximately 5 children per woman. In 2020,

this had fallen to 2.3 births per woman (Data

Commons, 2023). In Australia, the TFR was

approximately 3.55 in 1961, falling to 1.7

births per woman in 2021 (Qu &

Baxter, 2023). In many countries, the average

desired number of children is higher than the

actual number of children produced. This has

been termed the ‘fertility gap’and suggests

that there are barriers preventing people from

having the number of children desired

(Philipov, 2009).

Gender revolution theories of fertility posit

that family size decreases when employed

women face a second shift of (unpaid) child

care and household responsibilities

(Goldscheider et al., 2015; Hochschild, 1989)

because of the incongruity of gender equality in

different social spheres (McDonald, 2000b).

Whileinmanyhigh‐income countries men and

women tend to be treated equal in public

spheres (e.g., the labour market and education),

there remains a lack of gender equality in

families and households (McDonald, 2000b).

These theories predict that fertility is higher

* Kristin Snopkowski: Department of Anthropology,

Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA.

email kristinsnopkowski@boisestate.edu

© 2023 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, Faculty of Business

and Economics.

Published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd