The degree to which spouses actually share household tasks and income production is compared to their ideological commitment to sex role equity. Data were obtained from long-term intensive fieldwork with 19 Los Angeles nurses and their 18 families and from the researcher's doctoral dissertation. All data on family performance patterns indicate a highly segregated division of labor, with virtually all tasks the responsibility of a single spouse. Of the 98 tasks categorized, 50 were performed primarily by wives, 39 by husbands, and 9 were shared. Task allocation continues to be determined by traditional role designations, i.e., the wife prepares meals; the husband repairs the car. Deviation from traditional roles occurs only when a wife's job commitment constrains her from carrying out role-designated responsibilities. Thus, the actions of those families who identified themselves as egalitarian do not differ significantly from other families in the study; their self-characterizations only reflect general intentions. Further, wives are reluctant to accept equal responsibility for the provider role, even when their income exceeds that of their spouse. (KC)