The Division of Domestic Labor over Retirement among Older Couples in Korea

Abstract

Objectives. Despite the rapid aging of populations and an increase in labor force participation among older women, little is known about how older adults divide domestic labor within the couple and how the labor division changes over retirement in developed Asian countries, where expectations of traditional gender roles and family-dependent care systems still prevail. Methods. Using data from the 2012, 2014, and 2016 waves of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families, we first describe housework and care provided by Korean couples aged 50–64 and those aged 65 or over. Next, using couple-fixed effects regressions, we examine how the provision changes with the husband’s and the wife’s respective retirements and other common covariates.

Results. Older Koreans spent more time on housework than care. For both housework and care, the gender gap was large. Among couples aged 50–64, the retiree’s housework increased and the spouse’s decreased regardless of the sex of the retiree, but the size of these effects was small. Among couples aged 65 or over, the spouse’s housework declined with the wife’s retirement only. Retirement was hardly associated with care labor. Intergenerational coresidence was an important factor associated with domestic labor arrangements in later life.

Discussion. With the continuity in the gendered division of domestic labor in later life, older women in Korea, and other gendered Asian countries, may suffer from work-family conflict as their labor force participation increases.