In most industrialized societies, gender inequality in household division of labor has diminished but persisted in the last fifty years. This seems to be at odds with widespread acceptance of principles of fairness and egalitarian gender ideologies in those societies today. This paper aims at identifying the direct effects of traditional gender norms that imply unequal rights and the consequences of role expectations (congruent with egalitarian essentialism) as distinct mechanisms leading to inequality. In a series of survey experiments (pooled n = 3191) conducted in Hungary, respondents evaluated the division of chores in a fictitious dual-earner household presented on a vignette. Versions of the vignette differ in gender typicality, and in whether chores are described in text or in number of hours worked. Our data indicate that discriminatory patriarchal norms could contribute to cultural foundations of unequal family relations in present-day Hungary. However, we also show that unbalanced division of tasks can be supported even in those social milieus where inequality-when becomes salient-is perceived as equally amoral, regardless of whether the woman or the man does more housework. In this latter case, inequality is an unreflected consequence of traditional expectations of masculinity and femininity.