A study shows that married men in the US are doing significantly more housework than they did a few years ago. The results, based on data from the American Time Use Survey, offer insights into changing role distributions in American households. The pandemic may have contributed to this development.
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Women Long Bore the Brunt
For a long time, married women in the US carried the main burden of housework, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, and childcare. This was long considered normal, as women were more likely to stay at home rather than pursue employment. Men, on the other hand, went to work and paid the bills.
World War II as a Turning Point
World War II brought some changes as married women began working to pay bills while their husbands fought in the war. Since then, more and more women have been employed, both married and single. However, this initially did not lead to men taking on more housework.
Change Thanks to the Pandemic?
This was mainly due to the widespread view that this work was “women’s work.” But these views may now be changing, thanks in part to the pandemic. To find out how much time married men and women spend on housework overall and in comparison to each other, researchers analyzed data from the American Time Use Survey.
Convergence of Working Hours
The research covered the years 2003 to 2005 and then again from 2022 to 2023. The research team found that married women spent about 4.2 hours per week on housework for every hour their husbands did in 2003 to 2005. Twenty years later, the time spent by women was 2.5 hours per week for every hour their husbands did – a change of 40 percent.
The study shows a positive development in role distribution within marriages. It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue and lead to a more equal division of housework.
How do you experience the distribution of housework in your own environment, and what factors do you think influence this distribution? Share your experiences with us!
Based on content from www.phys.org and own research.