Domestic Labor Exchange? Interactions between Gender, Race, and Interracial Marriage in Brazil

Maria C. Tomas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais

This paper analyzes whether there is any difference in the shared amount of weekly hours spent on domestic labor among women and men in interracial and intraracial unions in Brazil. The results show that brown women married to white men do more household chores, as well as, black and brown men married to white or brown women. Other variables are also important for explaining the household labor division. The main implications of these findings suggest the need to include the couple’s racial composition in the analysis of the division of labor, and to be cautious when interpreting intermarriage as a way to overcome discrimination.