A Quantitative Gender Analysis of Public and Private Spheres: How Having a Spouse or Child Affects Individuals’ Time Spent Outside and Inside the Home

Abstract

Although gender segregation of the public and private spheres once reigned in the modern family, it seems to have waned in recent years. However, previous research drawing on interviews has shown that having a husband or child makes women’s lives home-centered. Using Japanese Life Course Panel Surveys, this study investigates whether Japanese married women and mothers spend less time outside the home compared to men because of their larger share of housework. Fixed-effects models showed that having a spouse or child decreases women’s time spent outside and increases the time spent inside the home. After controlling for housework, some independent variables are still significant. These findings suggest that another mechanism is at work behind the gender segregation of the spheres.