Succeeding as a First-Time Parent (HBR Working Parents Series)

5

Divide Domestic Work Equitably Now—or It May Be Never

by Eve Rodsky

Quick Takes

• New parents should reevaluate how they share domestic work with their partners
• Boundaries establish that each partner’s time is equally valuable
• Systems increase efficiency to create time for career, family, and leisure
• Communication about responsibilities should be frequent, carefully considered, and collaborative
• The payoff is a better relationship and more success at work

I caught up over lunch with my colleague Richard. He told me that he was thriving in his second marriage. “In large part,” he said, “it’s because I finally stepped up in the childcare and housework department.” As someone who has written extensively about the “gendered division of labor” ...