London - Almost half a century on from burning bras and marching on the streets in the interests of equality, women are still the ones who do the chores at home.
According to a study, eight out of ten wives do more housework than their husbands.
It reveals many do more than 13 hours of cleaning and washing a week – the equivalent of almost two extra working days – despite juggling careers and childcare. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) study suggests couples are still more likely to be split into “breadwinner” and “homemaker” roles despite drives for equality.
Although the number of “house husbands” has trebled in the last 15 years, it found there are just 62 000 men in Britain who don’t work and solely care for their homes or family.
The study shows almost a third (30 percent) of women do between seven and 12 hours of housework, while nearly half (45 percent) do at least 13 hours. Fewer than 13 percent of married women said their husbands do more housework than they do, while just three percent spend less than three hours a week on domestic duties.
However, the report also suggests married women without young or dependent children are far more likely than women with children to share the washing and ironing equally.
Another trend highlighted by the report is that men who are better educated are more likely to contribute substantially to childcare – though not housework – than they were in the 1970s. Wealthier couples are unsurprisingly more likely to have somebody else doing their cleaning and ironing than other couples, it suggests.
The study also found attempts to get women into boardroom roles have failed to create a family-friendly culture and the opportunities for other women to advance.
It suggests that although feminism has worked for some women at the top, the ones below have been left behind and have not benefited. Motherhood also affects women’s earnings, the report suggests. Women who have children earlier earn less than those who postponed having a family, the study found.
For men the reverse is true, with fathers earning more than men without children.
The report recommends more affordable and accessible childcare and more high-quality, better-paid and part time jobs at the “bottom end” of the labour market. - Daily Mail