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Abstract

Despite the entry of women into the labour force in India, women still participate in paid employment at a low rate; the rate even fell recently from 31% to 24% (ILO, 2013). This represents an alarming need for change in gender roles. The present article focuses on how electronic media content portrays men’s and women’s roles in performing housework. In a study of 30 TV serials that aired from 1990-2016 and 14 old and new TV advertisements, the findings show that mostly women are depicted doing domestic work. Media demonstrates gender disparities between men and women in performing domestic work, which is keeping our society from achieving gender equality. There is a need to reconsider men’s and women’s roles in the family. So, this study suggests that media content should not show biased gender roles. To avoid gender inequality at the micro level, we need to disseminate idealistic content to our nation’s audience. To ensure women’s participation in the work force, men’s involvement in domestic chores needs to be increased; this can also improve the gross domestic productivity of the country.

Author Biography

Ruby Jain: Working as an Associate Professor, Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India. Her focused research areas are recent trends in clothing and textiles, online shopping, and gender studies.

Surbhi Pareek: Research scholar, Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India. Her Ph.D research is focused on “Factors affecting gender differentials in division of domestic work.” She has a gold medal Master’s Degree from University of Rajasthan.

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