The Role of Intergenerational Transfers in Gendered Labour Patterns

This study is framed against the backdrop of a persistent gendered labour pattern in the Netherlands. Given that the majority of Dutch women work less than three days per week whereas most Dutch men work full-time, the gender gap in work-hours in the Netherlands is larger than anywhere else in the developed world. Its flipside is that Dutch men carry out far less housework and kin-care than Dutch women. This gendered pattern in paid and unpaid labour leads to substantial gender inequalities in terms of income, and institutional, political, and corporate representation. The present study explores intergenerational transfers as an explanation for gendered labour patterns, thus expanding the conventional focus on individual, couple, and household characteristics. We address three kinds of intergenerational transfers: behavioural role modelling, resource transfers, and upward and downward transfers of instrumental support. Based on data of the nationally representative Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, the empirical findings of this study suggest that certain intergenerational transfers indeed contribute to explaining women's and men's labour patterns. This study closes off with a discussion of its research contributions, policy implications, and suggestions for future research.