Abstract
Time-use data show that people frequently multitask when performing household production activities, especially child care, and that this is especially true for women (see, e.g., Floro and Miles 2003; Kalenkoski and Foster 2008; Offer and Schneider 2011; and Zaiceva and Zimmerman 2011). It has been conjectured that this is because women have greater multitasking ability than men. Evidence from neuroscience (Weise et al. 2006) suggests the possibility of innate gender differences in cognitive functioning that may affect task performance. Preferences, social roles, and cultural constraints may also play a role in explaining differences (Booth 2009; Croson and Gneezy 2009; de Mel, McKenzie, and Woodruff 2009; and Gneezy, Leonard, and List 2009).
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© 2016 Charlene M. Kalenkoski and Gigi Foster
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Kalenkoski, C.M., Foster, G. (2016). Are Women Better than Men at Multitasking Household Production Activities?. In: Kalenkoski, C.M., Foster, G. (eds) The Economics of Multitasking. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137381446_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137381446_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-57501-5
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