Do women really work more than men?

Never mind all that extra time spent Hoovering up smashed Cheerios and folding endless pairs of Barbie pants while your partner catches up on the cricket. Personal experience be damned, a new study written up in Salon.com says that men and women actually do the same amount of work at the office and at home. The authors of the study analyzed data from rich and poor countries, taking into account market work (you do it for pay) and home work (it knows where you live). Surprised? So were 70% of sociologists the authors surveyed.

...While the gender equal-work phenomenon has been noted before, "it has been swamped by claims in widely circulated sociological studies … that women's total work significantly exceeds men's," as the authors put it.

Do we do more work than men, or does it just feel that way?

Comments

[Deepsleeper]

we absolutely do at least 10 x more than men...we just don't announce our every chore like men and hence noone gets to hear about our hoovering, making beds, washing floors, hanging clothes, ironing monstrous piles of clothes, etc etc...

scan through the list of comments for other women not announcing every chore...

[Parson Jim]

I enjoyed this article, as it provided a much needed service in today's society - a new topic for women to focus on for blaming men.

Given the many benefits women today enjoy, longer lifespans than men, more healthcare spending for women's health than men's, superior numbers in university, medical and law school, etc., blaming of men for women's problems has been on the wane.

Luckily there are women's studies programs and media forums such as this to continue the long tradition of women nagging men - nagging them not only whilst within their own homes, but from public forums such as this.

Brava, Alpha Mummy, Brava

[daniela]

maybe men do not complain as much as women, maybe women focus on houseworks to make up for being unsuccessful outside the house .. so why is it that whenever I tell my friends (both men and women)about my boyfriend and how equally we work in the house and how great he's at cooking, ironing and all the rest they all urge me to marry him straightaway ???

[Delilah, USA]

Interesting stuff, but I am suspicious about how taxing some of the "work" counted in this study would be. Having worked half-days (8.30-1.30) four days a week (full-time on Wednesdays) for several years after having children, I can vouch that the first five hours of sitting in a quiet office with a nice latte dealing with things on a screen or negotiating with well-mannered adults - and the occasional adult lunch at a restaurant - took far less out of me than the ensuing six hours of unpaid childcare and multi-tasking household management (enjoyable though it was). My husband puts in quite a lot of home work after "work", but it does tend to be in the same soothing vein - coaching soccer, mowing the grass, or sitting in a quiet home office with a cup of tea filling in tax returns (for which bless him), coaching my eldest in math or sorting out the computer network. He tends to retreat when all hell breaks loose in the kitchen or something awful gets stuck in the loo. Fair enough, noise and filth just doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother him, possibly because I'm used to it, although I suspect men are wired up to be more disturbed by noise and chaos. (There are some fascinating studies on the reactions of toddler boys and girls to a recording of a baby crying - the boy's cortisol levels go way up, the girls' hardly change). Eight hours at a trade conference, or five digging ditches - which would you choose?

[supermother]

In my marriage it was fairly equally -we both worked full time, ie proper full time which can mean all night if you're working on a deal or 7 days a week sometimes and that was a gender neutral thing for us. We both had similar amounts of house stuff but divided - e.g. he took the children to the dentist for 17 years and I never did. I did our tax returns. He put the washer and dishwasher on every morning. I plaited the girls' hair.

Women should not complain about things. They should change what they don't like and ditto men. Moaning and condoning is a stupid stategy and women stuck with things they don't like in consequence only have themselves to blame. In erms of where you're better off long term spending your extra hours the office is probably better than over the toilet bowl so as a woman always gravitate towards work over housework.

From personal experience I would say that there is no denying that proper housewives (those who give a hoot and don't simply rely upon hired help) do more work than probably any professional out there, in that it really is a full time, dawn-til-dusk (well whenever they get to finally get some kip), job. They really are living martyrs.

However, in general, I have found that women in the workplace are quite the opposite, being far more tardy than their male counterparts, both for starting and for returning from lunch, as well as being prone to departing earlier than they should (especially if their actual time in work were scrutinised). And of what time they are on the premises a far greater proportion of this is spent gossiping, making personal calls to family and sending personal e-mails. I always find it funny when a MALE manager passes the canteen and you suddenly see all the women in the office scurrying back to their desks now that their gossip session has been noticed.

[sharon]

Last Sunday I decided to keep a little diary of all the things I had done between getting up and lunchtime, and all the things my husband had done. I then had a good laugh reading it to him, it went something like this....
ME: cleared up after breakfast,loaded dishwasher, made bed, put washing on, paid various bills, helped youngest with homework, hung washing out etc etc
HIM: got up, ate breakfast,walked around a bit, played on computer flight simulator, went to the bathroom for quite a long time, went back on flight simulator walked around a bit.
Funny thing was that he still tried to deny it, so I think I'll video it next time.

[chris]

If women work so hard why is it that the lion share of daytime TV and advetising is made for and aimed at women?

[John Ledbury, Kings Lynn]

Women just complain more

[The Good Woman]

When my good man is around things are pretty equitable. I have worked hard to achieve this and consider the toilet my greatest ally.

While the good man may spend considerable time bonding with (or is it bonded to?) the pot, the thought of actually cleaning it sends him into stupors of disgust. So we've come to an arrangement. He does the hoovering and I clean the bathroom. The hoovering takes the best part of an hour while the bathroom can be complete in 15 efficient minutes.

To my surprise he hasn't cottoned on to this subterfuge. But then I haven't told him that Toilet Duck Flush Aways have made it unnecessary to actually put one's hands into the bowl...

[Deborah]

I am the mother of two, a son 26, and a daughter 24. My son has two sons, ages 2 and almost 6. My daughter has a daughter 4. I have been married for 31 years. I have to tell you, after reading what others have written...I agree somewhat with "some" poor misguided souls who think all they are good for it to clean up after others. I was one of those myself, until recently. I am now going back to school. I really didn't think I was capable of doing anything else. I know what a tough job our stay at home moms have. I do think we need to require more of our men. I think they are better for it, our relationships are better for it, and the kids are better for it too. We need to realize our own self worth.I think men do what is "required" of them. Women do more because we are raised to be responsible and made to feel guilty. We as women need to change the way we think....

[Tom]

This proves that women often incessantly whinge about every aspect of their lives, including work. Men just accept the reality of work and whinge less about it. The posts here are ample evidence of that.

[Cathy]

I think that is hilarious! And proves the old "lies, damn lies and statistics" adage! In my household My husband works(i.e. paid employment) nights, but often replies to my question re any plans for(days off) that he has to "work tonight" therefore abdicating any responsibility for gainful activity for the following 12 hours!
I look after our 3 young children, do all the household dull chores and run my own business ( I am a jewellery designer maker-therefore can only work when the children are asleep) ...all this on not having had a full night's sleep for 4 1/2 years now( kids are bad sleepers).

If you wrote a job description just for the mother part of my many jobs, you would never sign up for the job...no holiday or sick pay or cover, and the "pay"(child benefit) comes to about 30p and hour based on a 12 hour day( i do about 14 hour days!)
Yes of course I love most of the mum job, but some credit for the incredible hours I put in would be welcomed, and rubbish stats like those I find really devalue what I do.

[Nancy]

I understand these results were gleaned from "diaries" kept by men and women. As entrepreneur, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend - I'm too busy to keep a diary.

[Beta Mum]

The balance of work at breakfast time in our house certainly tips my way and not his... unless you count newspaper-reading as work.

[Michele]

My husband does way more than me. He is very grumpy about it though - but no-one's perfect.

Most men would do more if their females managed them properly. I think some people just like to work hard and grumble about it rather than do something constructive about making life easier for themselves.

In our relationship my husband has that mind set and I don't. Maybe it is more usual for it to be the other way round.

I also think that immersing themselves in 'drudgery' can be a great way for women to excuse their lack of achievement in other spheres. I can't accuse hubby of that - he works like a trojan and gets his own stuff done as well.

Others like to work hard at home so that they can avoid interacting with the family members. There is nothing so galling as the female who slams about her housework muttering darkly to herself - it doesn't encourage anyone to want to help either. My Mum was one like that.

I remember her saying to me 'tidy your room it's the least you could do'
and me risking a huge row by replying ' no - nothing at all is the least I can do'

Anyone in a 'good' job with 'good' pay can afford to farm out laundry and cleaning and at the same time contribute to someone else's well being by paying them for the service.

Struggling with things you don't have to struggle with is just bad management.

Obviously if you can't afford to farm stuff out you then need to organise things.

Less clothes means less washing, learn to cook meals that only need one saucepan so less washing up, smaller house and less pointless possessions means less tidying up and cleaning. Well trained children means unpaid domestic tasks done for free.

It really is true that less is more.

I'd love to know exactly how the researchers got their facts. If it was based on "tasks started", then maybe I can understand the results: men are not bad at starting things, but in my experience, it's the women that end up finishing them every time. On this basis, add the tasks men think they do, to the tasks that women actually do, and I'm with Aminah!

[aminah]

we absolutely do at least 10 x more than men...we just don't announce our every chore like men and hence noone gets to hear about our hoovering, making beds, washing floors, hanging clothes, ironing monstrous piles of clothes, etc etc...that is, until now...