According To A Study, “having A Husband” Means Having 7 More Hours Of Work

Today, having a husband does not have to be a reason for a woman to have more or less responsibilities in a home. Would you like to know more about it? In that case, we invite you to continue reading everything that we are going to tell you about.

Today, although it has been reduced, gender inequality still exists. Therefore, it is still possible to see how there are women who take care of a large part of the domestic tasks in their home.

However, you don’t have to generalize either. There are cases in which men are the ones who assume the domestic chores, as well as there are cases of couples who have an equitable distribution of the same.

In relation to all this, there are several surveys that provide quite interesting data. Shall we take a look at them? Let’s go with it!

Marriage and gender inequality

A longitudinal study carried out by Alexandra C. Achen and Frank P. Stafford (Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan) finds evidence regarding marriage and the imbalance in the distribution of tasks at home.

In order to explore how the income dynamics of American families have evolved, the authors analyzed how marriages of men and women spent their time from 1968 to 2005.

These results allow us to know how the division of housework and other obligations has been developing over the last decades. To appreciate the scope of this a bit more, let’s take a closer look at the question below.

1. How is the division of tasks when having a husband?

Although considerable progress has been made in reconciling work and family life, according to the aforementioned survey, it is found that, in general, married women:

• They choose to temporarily or permanently abandon their professional commitments to dedicate themselves to raising children and taking care of the home.
• Even when they keep their jobs, they spend about 7 more hours of work a week on the house and children compared to their partner or husband.

Furthermore, it is observed that these differences were much more pronounced in previous generations. In 1976, for example, the weekly average for women was about 26 hours, being around 6 hours for men.

For its part, an article by professors Joni Hersch and Leslie S. Stratton also adds interesting contributions on this issue. And it is that the salary differences that, in a classic way, are detected according to gender have a lot to do with this distribution of domestic tasks.

These researchers point out that female dedication is 3 times higher than male, which reduces the opportunities for women to generate greater earnings in the workplace.

2. What does having a husband mean regarding the care of dependents?

At present, a couple can share equally the tasks of caring for and educating the little ones. However, when it comes to caring for dependent people, be they the elderly or other relatives with physical limitations, the responsibility often falls on the woman. As the first study cited points out, the differences are still notable.

When the burden of tradition weighs, what prevails is the role scheme, under which it is “they” who take care of this work in the private sphere.

On the other hand, some evidence has also been obtained of the well-being experienced by women in relation to “housework versus taking care of one’s own spouse”.

Along these lines, it is interesting to know that, according to the analysis carried out by Professor Vicki A. Freedman’s team, it seems that the lowest levels of happiness are mainly associated with chores around the house.

Furthermore, the care given to the couple when they are ill is perceived by the wives with a positive attitude towards the displeasure caused by activities such as washing or scrubbing.

It is always possible to reach an agreement

Taking into account that each couple reaches their own agreements, depending on their particular circumstances and needs, it should be noted that:

• If both members carry out a professional activity, housework is the responsibility of both.

• Other things being equal, both men and women will also spend the same amount of time in domestic work.
• In short, the fact of having a husband does not have to mean that the woman must assume the entire burden of household chores.

This is the way if we want to change consciences and bet on gender equality, that is, for equal responsibilities and, in turn, opportunities.