Digital unpaid labor in Dutch households

    19 February 2026

    LISS 2025. Authors: Katia Begall (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen – Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen).

    This project examines digital unpaid labor as a new dimension of the gendered household task division, alongside the established categories of physical and cognitive labor. Digital household tasks include using childcare and educational apps, coordinating family schedules through digital platforms, managing online grocery shopping, and monitoring children’s digital activities. Despite the growing role of digital platforms in household organization and family communication, this form of labor has not yet been empirically or theoretically examined in sociological research. This study will develop the first systematic measurement of digital unpaid labor among Dutch couples. Based on the original data collected in this project, the study will provide descriptive and explanatory analyses of how couples divide digital household tasks. This research contributes to understanding contemporary gender inequality by identifying and measuring an overlooked but increasingly important dimension of household labor division.

    Picture by Antonio Verdín For Unsplash+