The Late Divide. Gender and the Division of Labor in Older Couples

• Applicant: Dr. Florian Schulz
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2015 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 277654458

This project proposes a comprehensive longitudinal investigation of the division of labor in older couples. It addresses a major gap of knowledge, as previous research has focused almost exclusively on how younger couples negotiate their division of market and domestic work throughout earlier periods of married life. Extending the analytical scope to older couples is particularly worthwhile, as both theory and empirical evidence suggest that the division of labor - and the associated gender inequalities - might shift substantially in later life. Most importantly, two critical life transitions of this period - grandparenthood and retirement - represent turning points that may instigate processes of adaptation and renegotiation of the previous division of labor in older couples. Consequently, the proposed research will trace older couples over extended periods of time to explore how, why, and under which conditions grandparenthood and retirement affect their arrangements of market and domestic work. The analyses will draw on comprehensive longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the German Aging Survey (DEAS), the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam). The investigation will be informed by life course, solidarity, and social network perspectives as well as established theories of the division of labor. In tying these frameworks together and extending them to the study of later life and older couples, the project will yield important contributions both at the theoretical and at the empirical level.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Italy
• Cooperation Partners: Professorin Dr. Henriette Engelhardt-Wölfler; Dr. Jan Skopek