After all, women are not sold into marriage, it is something both women and men chose. Okin is comparing the family to other social institutions in Rawls basic structure of society, when it clearly is unique. Maybe the primary carer, be it the woman or man, simply chooses to spend lots of time with their children. Childcare can be combined with any number of activities such as painting, writing, or reading. Okin also implies that housework is done by the woman for the sole benefit of the man, but this is a nonsense.
Housework is for the benefit of the whole household, including the one doing the work.
The notion that housework should be paid work is ridiculous. What is most disturbing about Okin s work is the picture she paints of fathers. She seems to assume that if a marriage were to break down, an absent father would not support his children. A good father will always support his children, and even if there is mainly male participation in the original position, a father will not construct principles of justice without considering his family s interests as paramount. It is best, surely, for partners to bring their own specific skills to a marriage for mutual advantage.