Page 115 - IJPS-11-2

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
The gendered division of household labor and

decision-making in Tehran, Iran

1
2
Fateme Modiri , Rasoul Sadeghi * , and Ali Rahimi 1
1 Department of Family Studies, National Institute of Population Research, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Demography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The division of labor and decision-making within households is highly influenced by
gender norms and resource allocation. However, there has been a marked shift away
from traditional gender roles in domestic tasks and decision-making in recent years.
This study examines the division of domestic responsibilities, childcare, and decision-
making within households, as well as the socioeconomic factors that influence
these dimensions in Iran. Data come from the “Survey of Married Lifestyle,” which
*Corresponding author: included 1736 married people aged 18 years and over in Tehran, selected through
Rasoul Sadeghi a multi-stage random sampling process. The results reveal that while women are
(rassadeghi@ut.ac.ir)
increasingly involved in decision-making, they still primarily shoulder the burden of
Citation: Modiri, F., Sadeghi, R., & household chores and childcare. Factors such as women’s education and income, as
Rahimi, A. (2025). The gendered
division of household labor and well as men’s education and dual-earner status, are key determinants of the division
decision-making in Tehran, Iran. of labor in households. Social policies that focus on enhancing women’s access to
International Journal of Population education and economic opportunities are crucial for promoting gender equality
Studies, 11(2): 109-117.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.3212 and empowering women in household decision-making.
Received: March 19, 2024
Keywords: Domestic labor division; Childcare; Decision-making; Dual-earner status;
1st revised: March 26, 2024
Resource-based approach; Iran
2nd revised: June 27, 2024
3rd revised: July 26, 2024
4th revised: August 6, 2024
Accepted: October 11, 2024 1. Introduction
Published online: October 28, The family structure and relationships have experienced notable transformations,
2024
mainly as a result of industrialization, urbanization, and globalization (Goode, 1963;
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). Megha et al., 2024). These macro-social forces have led to increased awareness among
This is an Open-Access article women regarding their personal and social rights, as well as in questioning men’s
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution traditional views on women’s roles within both the family and society. Therefore, there
License, permitting distribution, have been substantial changes in the distribution of power resources and the traditional
and reproduction in any medium, division of domestic responsibilities.
provided the original work is
properly cited. Household-level decisions made by spouses, who often have different preferences
Publisher’s Note: AccScience and bargaining power, have significant implications for the well-being of all household
Publishing remains neutral with members, including children (Alem et al., 2023). Intra-household bargaining power is
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional also important for policymakers, as it is closely linked to women’s empowerment (Dong,
affiliations. 2021). Therefore, it is crucial to examine the division of domestic labor and decision-

Volume 11 Issue 2 (2025) 109 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.3212