[Wage labor, housewifery, and health: qualitative and quantitative differences between men and women]

This article presents the relationship between wage labor, housewifery, and health from a gender perspective. The relationship between the two types of work determines the characteristics and meaning of daily life. The methodology combined quantitative and qualitative techniques. An individual questionnaire was applied to 256 male and 121 female workers (n = 377) in a modern pharmaceutical factory in Mexico. In addition, seven in-depth interviews were performed with selected employees. Despite important similarities between female and male wage-earners, there were two key differences: gender segregation in the workplace and the division of household work. The social determinants of this uneven situation result from a complex gender relationship, leading to different disease profiles and health concepts.