Articolo LaVoce.info Inglese

A DEI to understand how work is divided in the domestic sphere

By Laura Alfonsi-Castelli, Marco D’Errico, Charlotte Groppo, and Paolo Groppo

The Domestic Equality Index (DEI) highlights inequalities in the division of domestic and care work within couples and families. Constructed using an inclusive method, it is an active support tool for achieving greater balance.

Inequality within the Home

The fight for gender equality, understood as equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for women, men, girls, and boys, requires exploring the issue of social reproductive work, a topic so complex that it disappears from political and analytical visibility. We are talking about elementary labor, reproductive labor, and care work—activities that cannot be fully reduced to the market (wage) and that overlap with time-use patterns that shift from linear to processual, where multiple things enter simultaneously without hierarchies. In this complex and parallel time, countless tasks are necessary for a couple to function, embedded in their family and social relationships. We propose analyzing who does what, fully or partially, starting from a detailed list constructed and validated with the institution we will be working with. To this end, we have developed a Domestic Equality Index (DEI), a monitoring and advocacy tool that, by highlighting the asymmetry of power, supports a process of awareness-raising and rebalancing that extends from the individual (couple/family) to the collective political space.

DEI is therefore designed for a specific audience: associations, movements, and/or parties that hold political positions in favor of gender equality. It will thus demonstrate the coherence between discourse, words, and concrete actions undertaken. The structural elements of the proposal are: a) the ways in which time is used and its distribution; b) the need to involve men as well; c) the negotiating approach; d) consideration of the historical asymmetry of power in favor of men.

How the index is constructed

The DEI index is constructed using an inclusive method based on the INSEE (French statistical institute) conceptual framework, involving stakeholders in identifying and weighting various household tasks. This allows the index to reflect diverse experiences and needs, adapting to different cultural, geographical, and economic contexts. Three parameters are considered: narrow, intermediate, and broad; each is broken down into various initial dimensions and specific activities (translated into questions in the questionnaire). The final list, negotiated at the group level, will assign values from -1 to +1 according to the contribution of the two partners to each activity. The sample used will be statistically representative of the group to which the individuals interviewed belong. The questionnaires, administered to both partners, will be anonymous, and will only report the couple's gender, age group, educational level, number of children, and net monthly income.

DEI will therefore have three possible extremes: 0 (if the pairs in the study group are perfectly balanced); -1 (all activities are carried out by only one partner); and +1 (all activities are carried out by only the other partner). The activities to be examined will vary depending on the specifics of the partner institution. This may seem obvious, but the co-constructive nature of IPAD takes on its full meaning in this process of dialogue and negotiation.

DEI will then be measured several times to see how the balance changes over time. The initial values at T0 therefore take on their full meaning in the temporal analysis (how the value changed at T1 and T2 thanks to the specific (policy) actions implemented by the partners' institutions) rather than in the spatial analysis (comparability within the same year across institutions), which, while useful, does not represent the core of the problem we wish to address.

The first test is underway with the Sardinian chapter of Rifondazione Comunista Party. Initial results confirm the primary role of women in basic household activities (primary school work and child/elderly care), while men are recognized as having a greater role in secondary activities. While we will continue to monitor the processes in the near future, we are beginning to prepare awareness-raising and training activities to be implemented together with our partner.

We strongly believe that a change in the domestic sphere is central to building a different and better future. In a society that has given a key role to indicators, we believe that supporting grassroots lobbying, with men and women, for a genuine sharing of time within the domestic sphere, so that men also assume their share of responsibility and free up women's time, is an interesting proposal worth discussing.