What does the term 'second shift' describe in the context of gender and work within families?

• A. Men taking on unpaid domestic and care labor at home.
• B. Women performing paid work plus unpaid domestic and care labor at home.
• C. Children doing housework after school.
• D. Couples sharing all tasks equally.

Answer: (B)

The second shift refers to the idea that many women who work outside the home still take on a second set of hours at home doing unpaid domestic and care tasks. After finishing paid work, they often handle most of cooking, cleaning, laundry, child care, and elder care, creating a cumulative workload that women bear more than men. This concept highlights gendered inequality in family labor and shows how employment outside the home doesn’t automatically equal equality in domestic responsibilities. It originated from work by Arlie Hochschild and colleagues, who documented how the unpaid labor at home adds to women’s overall daily burdens. Some households do share tasks more evenly, but the term specifically describes the typical pattern where women shoulder the majority of at-home work in addition to their paid jobs.