Division of household labor and social judgments in Israel: The influence of gender and education

The study investigated how men and women with high and low levels of educat ion perceive mate and female targets who participate or do not participate in household chores. It was found that individuals liked both men and women who participated in the household chores more and wanted to engage in acti vities with them more than with the low-participating targets. The particip ating man was perceived as more popular than the low-participating man and was perceived as more feminine but not less masculine. In addition, althoug h participants with both high and low levels of education preferred the par ticipating man, the more educated participants preferred him more, attribut ed more masculinity to him, and expressed willingness to befriend him and e ngage in activities with him more than those with a lower level of educatio n. It seems, then, that whereas in the 1990s both highly and less educated individuals perceive a male target who participates in household chores mor e favorably, this preference is more pronounced among the more educated ind ividuals.