We can reduce gender inequality in housework – here’s how

Women today spend as much time doing housework as in the 1990s. Men have increased their housework contributions – a nod towards greater gender equality. Yet women still spend twice as much time on housework as men. Full-time working Australian women spend, on average, 25 hours doing housework per week, including shopping for groceries and cooking. This is in addition to the average 36.4 hours full-time working women spend in employment. Full-time working men spend an average of 15 hours doing housework per week, in addition to their 40 hours in paid labour. When weighed together, full-time working women spend 6.4 hours more per week working inside and outside the home than full-time working men. Averaged across the year, this means a 332 additional hours (or two weeks of 24-hour days) of work. Women shoulder the time-intensive and routine tasks such as cooking, laundry and dishes. They’re also more likely to do the least enjoyable tasks like scrubbing the toilets versus washing the car. By contrast, men are more likely to do the episodic chores such as mowing the lawn or changing the light bulbs.

Women consistently spend more time in housework and, as a result, less time in employment. Source: AAP