Asian Social Science; Vol. 13, No. 11; 2017 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 1 ‘New’ Men and ‘New’ Women: Cultural Identity Work of Husbands and Wives Related to Housework and Childcare Nasima M. H. Carrim 1 1 Department of Human Resource Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Correspondence: Nasima M. H. Carrim, Department of Human Resource Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Tel: 27-420-2466. E-mail: nasima.carrim@up.ac.za Received: August 30, 2017 Accepted: September 20, 2017 Online Published: October 28, 2017 doi:10.5539/ass.v13n11p1 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v13n11p1 Abstract Existing research indicates that the number of dual-career couples is increasing and that, by implication, domestic responsibility should be equally shared between husbands and wives. However, in many societies, women’s paid employment has not resulted in men assuming responsibility for domestic duties and childcare. This article examines the extent to which husbands and wives engage in cultural identity work related to household chores and childcare. A qualitative interpretivist approach was followed and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 Indian couples occupying different positions across various management levels in diverse South African organisations. The results of the study indicate that these husbands and wives, who come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, engage differently in cultural identity work. Additionally, today’s younger wives are more assertive and expect their husbands to be involved to a greater extent in the home and with childcare, resulting in husbands engaging in more identity work. The Indian society in South Africa is undergoing tremendous changes regarding adherence to culture, resulting in varying levels of cultural identity work taking place within dual-earner relationships. Keywords: dual-earner couples, cultural identity work, housework, childcare, South Africa 1. Introduction An increase in the number of women entering the workforce, not only worldwide (Bianchi & Milkie, 2010) but also in South Africa (Department of Labour, 2016), has resulted in the transformation of traditional gender roles in many homes, especially when wives occupy full-time jobs and men assume greater roles in the home (Ahmed & Carrim, 2016). Men are no longer the sole breadwinners in their families: women also contribute to household expenses (Carrim, 2016). In the past, the myth surrounding the concept of a dual-career relationship was that work and family were separate spheres. A dual-career relationship is referred to as a ‘work-family system’ that embraces the work and family roles of both husband and wife. These days, both men and women in most Western societies and cultures take on roles inside and outside the home (Bianchi & Milkie, 2010). In traditional societies, and in the majority of cases, division of labour in the home is strict: men are breadwinners and women are housewives (Carrim, 2012). For example, within the Indian society (consisting of individuals who trace their origins back to the Indian subcontinent), gender role division is prescribed for both males and females. Indian cultural norms dictate that domestic chores and childcare are women’s domains and economic responsibility the realm of men (Carrim, 2016). Hence, within dual-career relationships the division of labour becomes a challenge especially when wives advance in their careers and may have to work late in the evenings and travel out of town on business. Husbands therefore start assuming some responsibility in the home and for childcare (Ahmed & Carrim, 2016). This entry into the woman’s domain becomes a challenge to the cultural identities of Indian husbands and wives and they ask themselves the question: who am I as an Indian male or female? As a result, they start engaging in identity work, a concept that is defined by Sveningsson and Alvesson (2003, p. 1165) as the way ”individuals form, repair, maintain, strengthen or revise constructions that are productive of a sense of coherence and distinctiveness”. Most of the research conducted on housework and childcare has focused on wives’ perspectives (Gupta, 2007; Zimmerman, 2003) and a limited number of studies have been done taking both husbands’ and wives’ perspectives into account (Ahmed, & Carrim, 2016; Craig, 2007; Quek, Knudson-Martin, Orpen, & Victor, 2011). Moreover, research on the responsibility for household chores and childcare among dual-earner couples