My first Publication GenderedDistributionOfLabour(clone)
If the gendered distribution of labour is sustained through adults’
voluntary choices, how can it be unjust?
I.
Introduction
This essay addresses the question of the fairness of gendered division of labour and
distributive justice. In addressing this issue, one must think about things such as: is the
gendered division of labour truly unjust? How should the labour work and
household/childrearing work be distributed within a family? And what should one do in order
to combat the injustice of the gendered division of labour? To answer the question “If the
gendered distribution of labour is sustained through adults’ voluntary choices, how can it be
unjust?”, it is essential to take into consideration all the aspects of the issue; for example, the
fact that this type of division of labour has been embedded into society for a very long time,
indirectly affecting our thinking and choices nowadays, making the voluntary choice an
injustice nevertheless.
In a traditional family, the man does the paid labour while the female does the household
unpaid labour more. Men have an increased income compared to women and contribute less
to domestic labour. It is true that women’s participation in the labour market has increased;
however, married women still do the majority of domestic labour. Divorce makes the
situation even worse as the woman usually gets the custody of the children, increasing her
responsibility, and reducing her time in order to pursue her career goals. Some people might
think that the division of labour within a family is a private matter, while in fact, it is a matter
of social justice. (Arneson, 1997: 213).
Due to the length of this essay, I will not be able to approach every aspect of this issue, but I
will focus on the most important ones. Firstly, I will discuss the views of some scholars who
engaged in this subject, such as Anca Gheaus’ gender principle and Gina Schouten’s
citizenship argument. Secondly, I will proceed with some other interesting views about this
matter, Arneson’s view on the “equal split” rule, Mason’s ‘equal access view’ and Roemer’s
‘pragmatic theory of responsibility’. After that, I will discuss Susan Okin’s policy proposals
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