Spouses’ household labor and education in urban areas of Iran

Education is considered as one of the factors influencing population changes. However, the role of the spouses’ education on division of household labor has not been studied in Iran at the national level. This paper uses data from the 2014-2015 Time Use Survey, representing urban areas of Iran, to study the association between the spouses’ household labor and education. The results suggest considerable gender differences in these associations. Specifically, wives’ higher education reduces their participation in household labor but increases the participation of their husbands’ in household labor. Husbands’ education, on the other hand, is positively associated with their participation in household labor as well as their wives’ participation in household labor. Thus, the wives’ experience is explained by the economic approach, while the husbands’ experience is consistent with the cultural approach. Wives’ higher education increases the opportunity cost of participation in household labor by creating more opportunity of engagement in non-household activities or is used as a negotiating resources to reduces their participation and increase their husbands’ engagement in household labor. The association between the husbands’ household labor and their/wives’ education is explained by cultural factors such as stronger equalitarian gender attitudes and the importance of child raising roles among husbands with higher education.