The role of gender and equity norms in the social acceptance of outsourcing housework

Objective: This study investigates the interplay between gender and equity norms with respect to the social acceptance of outsourcing housework. Background: To explain the outsourcing of housework, gender norms are often used, which yields mixed results. We argue that these results can be caused by the omission of another powerful norm, equity, which is important for the allocation of benefits and costs in exchange relationships. Method: To test our hypotheses, we use a factorial survey conducted in 2020 in Germany (N = 366) in which respondents were asked to evaluate a hypothetical outsourcing situation involving a couple. We apply linear regression analysis with cluster-robust standard errors. Results: First, it is socially less accepted for women to outsource housework than for men to do so, which is independent of outsourcing a 'male' or 'female' household task. Second, increasing input in terms of working hours increases people's acceptance of outsourcing housework. Third, the gender gap in outsourcing is reduced only among full-time workers, whereas part-time working women in particular experience less social acceptance when outsourcing housework. Conclusion: We find that gender norms reduce the social acceptance of outsourcing housework by part-time working women, whereas equity norms can flatten this effect among full-time working women. In conclusion, gender norms seem to be especially persistent in couple models that already reproduce traditional gender norms.