Community practices reduced gendered division of labour

What the study found: The study found that subversive, collective action at the interactional level can redo gender at the wider institutional level in a large community that enacts gender egalitarianism. It also found that changes at the institutional level and changes in everyday interaction reinforced each other.
Why the authors say this matters: The authors conclude that these findings show how community-wide practices can create sustained structural and cultural change, while also making gender-atypical behaviour more possible in daily life.
What the researchers tested: The researchers used participant observation and interviews in a large community unique for enacting gender egalitarianism. They examined a set of interdependent practices, including uniform working hours and earnings for all members, communal provision of domestic labour such as childcare, and a 50:50 gender quota for representative positions with role rotation.
What worked and what didn't: The abstract reports that these practices collectively created sustained structural and cultural changes at the institutional level. It also reports that as participants became accountable to revised ideas of gender-appropriate behaviour, gender became less salient in how work was divided between women and men. The abstract does not describe any practices that failed.
What to keep in mind: The available summary does not describe limitations, and the findings are based on one large community described as unique for gender egalitarianism.

Key points

• The study found that collective action could redo gender at both institutional and interactional levels.
• Uniform working hours and earnings, communal childcare, and a 50:50 quota were part of the practices studied.
• The authors say the practices produced sustained structural and cultural change.
• Institutional changes and everyday behaviour changes were described as mutually reinforcing.
• The abstract does not describe limitations or failed interventions.