Married men are doing more cleaning and laundry than in the past

Historically, joined women successful nan United States person done nan lion’s stock of their households’ laundry, cooking and cleaning. But that gendered norm appears to beryllium shifting, pinch nan spread betwixt nan clip joined women and men spent connected specified chores shrinking by 40 percent complete nan past 2 decades, researchers study February 6 successful Socius.

By nan numbers, from 2003 to 2005, joined women spent, connected average, 4.2 hours per week connected traditionally feminine tasks, specified arsenic repast prep and tidying up, for each 1 hr joined men spent connected those aforesaid tasks, according to nan American Time Use Survey, a nationally typical study that shows how, wherever and pinch whom Americans walk their time. By nan 2022 to 2023 survey, nan gender spread had shrunk to joined women spending 2.5 hours connected those sorts of chores for each 1 hr by joined men.

“Men are doing quote, unquote ‘women’s work,’” says Melissa Milkie, a sociologist astatine nan University of Toronto. “There is simply a hopeful communicative here.”

Milkie’s findings adhd to a longstanding statement among gender scholars complete whether aliases not nan gender gyration — marked by expanding parity betwixt men’s and women’s employment and section of family tasks — has stalled complete nan past 2 decades. That is, successful nan 1960s joined women did 7 times much housework than their husbands. By nan mid-1990s, those numbers had plummeted, pinch joined women doing astir doubly arsenic overmuch housework than their husbands.

Since then, advancement has dropped off. In 2003, for instance, women devoted 18.5 hours per week, connected average, to each housework — including traditionally feminine tasks, specified arsenic cleaning, cooking and laundry, arsenic good arsenic childcare, shopping, outdoor chores and farming — compared pinch joined men’s 10.1 hours per week. Twenty years later, women were spending 17.7 hours connected specified tasks compared pinch joined men’s 11.2 hours per week: Even successful nan 2020s, joined women still do astir 1.6 times much housework than joined men.

But looking astatine hours spent connected each forms of housework successful aggregate masks existent progress, Milkie argues. Besides a shrinking spread successful clip spent connected traditionally feminine chores, nan hours joined men and women walk shopping for groceries and different family needs is nearing parity. The gender spread successful childcare hours remains large, pinch joined women spending almost doubly arsenic galore hours caring for their children than joined men. But nan persistence of that spread is partially explained by nan truth that some joined men and women person accrued nan clip they walk pinch their children since 2003.

A limitation of nan study is that it cannot tease retired nan clip azygous parents walk connected specified tasks aliases relationship for clip spent connected different caregiving responsibilities, specified arsenic elder care, that typically autumn to women, nan squad notes. 

Moreover, demographic shifts complete nan past 2 decades can explain nan decreasing magnitude of clip women give to family tasks, nan squad found. For example, younger, college-educated joined women are doing little housework than older, little knowledgeable joined women. Yet akin demographic shifts cannot explicate why men are spending much clip connected housework. Instead, nan researchers fishy that shifting beliefs astir what constitutes women’s activity mightiness underpin men’s alteration successful behavior.

Trends that emerged during nan COVID-19 pandemic are telling, Milkie says. While everyone importantly accrued clip spent connected chores and childcare successful 2020, by 2023, nan hours women spent connected specified tasks had mostly returned to nan pre-pandemic baseline. But men person remained much adjacent contributors. In different words, Milkie says, men developed caller family habits and, to immoderate extent, those habits person persisted.

It’s easy to look astatine nan mini driblet successful women’s wide housework betwixt 2003 and 2023 and lament nan glacial gait of change, says sociologist and demographer Mila Kolpashnikova of The University of Western Ontario successful London, Canada, who was not progressive pinch this work. But breaking down chore types to look astatine those deemed feminine shows that meaningful taste shifts whitethorn beryllium afoot. “You tin look astatine [these changes] arsenic a glass-half-empty type of change. But you tin besides look astatine it arsenic a glass-half-full type of change, arsenic this insubstantial shows,” she says.