Vägen mot jämlikhet : En kvalitativ studie om hushållsfördelning av hemarbete hos den yngre och äldre generationen

Sammanfattning: Gender equality work has been and continues to be an ongoing topic not only in Sweden but also in other parts of the western world. Even though the topic about gender equality work has been going on for a long time, there are still various inequalities when it comes to the division of housework. The purpose of this study is to investigate how couples view and reason about the division of housework among the younger and older generation. By the younger generation we mean those between 25-35 years old and the older generation, between 50-70 years old. The questions at issue used in this thesis are: How do heterosexual couples reason about the division of responsibilities of homework? In which ways does it differ between the younger and older generations regarding the division of household chores? The theory used in analysing our results was the capital metaphors described by Pierre Bourdiue and Beverly Skeggs. Furthermore, we have used the qualitative method of research. We used qualitative interviews with semi-structured questions. This way we gave our participants more room to answer questions freely in their own way, but it also enabled us to ask some follow up questions in areas we wanted to understand more. The results show that couples divide housework in different ways. The central part in the division of responsibilities is that whoever is available or free is the one who is currently allowed to perform the task. Some divide housework according to skills, interest, or gender. Furthermore, the older generation gender-marks household chores to a greater extent than the younger generation. In the older generation, women tend to account for tasks that are seen traditionally feminine and men those that are masculine. In the younger generation, the division of household chores is more mixed. Where both accessibility and interest play a big role. Anyone who likes certain tasks may perform them, it does not necessarily have to link to a gender.