Presented by Anna Helgøy
Author: Anna Nordnes Helgøy
Abstract
The ‘mental load’ — the organizational dimension of household labor — is highly gender unequal, whereby women have substantially higher loads compared to men. Exacerbated by parenthood, a high mental load has been shown to negatively affect key gender equality outcomes, such as political- and labor market participation. Equalizing the mental load between genders is therefore paramount in the pursuit of gender equality. This article argues that family policy attitudes represent what political action is in demand by those experiencing different levels of mental load inequality in their households, and is therefore an important starting point in countering this aspect of household gender inequality. Using three-wave Norwegian panel data, it examines whether within-person changes in the mental load lead to changes in family policy attitudes. Findings show that as the mental load increases for an individual, so does their opposition to optional familialism in family policy. This implies that one political action demanded by those experiencing mental load inequality is a family policy approach that allows for active father involvement measures.