FATHERS ' CHANGING PERFORMANCE OF HOUSEWORK: A BIGGER SLICE OF A SMALLER PIE

The amount of time devoted to housewolt ( was measured for both fathers and mothers residing in a southwestern community within the United States during 1989 and 1994. A scientific random sample was used and respondents were interviewed by telephone. The findings were compared to measures and resuHs from studies dating back to the 1920s. The contention thattoday's fathers are taking on more family duties than their predecessors and that wives ' employment is a primary causal factorwere assessed. Compared to earlier studies, the findings show that today ' a couples devote less time to housework. Within this declining trend a contradictory pattern erne ~ for fathers. While their proportional contributions to housewolt ( consistently increased, si'nultaneou the amount of tine fathers spent has varied very little. This pattern su~ts a trend toward parity with mothers. exception was Southweslem fathers whose wives were employed. They spent less time doing housewolt ( than fathers who were the sole earners in the family. The most important factor contributing to parents doing an equal amount of housewolt ( was the reduction in time spend by mothers