Study on the division of labor
How men overestimate their contribution to housework
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How fair couples share the housework? For this, women and men have a very different perception, a survey shows. This also has consequences for the job market.
The man goes to work, the woman takes care of the household and children. This is what the world looked like in the 1950s. Today, many couples imagine the distribution of roles a bit equal. But the perception of who contributes to housework clearly differ between the sexes. This is shown by a representative online survey by the Institute Work and qualification on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
For the study on the division of work, gender roles and reconciliation of work and family, 1,600 men and women from heterosexual couple relationships were asked how the responsibilities are distributed at home. 68 percent of the men stated that both partners were jointly responsible for all or at least most of the tasks in the household. Of the women surveyed, however, only 44 percent saw common responsibility for everyone or most of the activities. Instead, more than half of the women (54 percent) explained that she was always or mostly responsible. However, only 22 percent of the men said that the partner was mostly responsible.
Particularly interesting: Even if you only look at the couples, in which both fully pursue gainful employment, hardly anything changes in the numbers. In this group, too, 70 percent of men are of the opinion that both are both responsible, but only 48 percent of women see it the same way. And here too, 50 percent of women say that housework is mostly its thing in addition to the full-time job, but only 22 percent of men see the main burden with their partner.
Women invest more in housework
How can this discrepancy be explained in perception? Do many men only think that the tasks are distributed quite equally, even though they actually make significantly less? Or do women overestimate their role in the household? The study cannot completely dissolve the question. However, further answers suggest that “it is more of the men who overestimate their participation,” the authors write.
Because it was also asked how many hours the respondents according to their own assessment per week for household tasks. And lo and behold: Men who see a common responsibility for all activities apparently apply significantly less time for household tasks than women do. The men from this group stated that an average of 6.7 hours a week in household tasks, for women from the same group it was 10.6 hours.
Men’s matters and women’s things
When it comes to the question of which activities fall in whose area of responsibility, you can see that the world of the 1950s has not yet completely disappeared. Small repairs in the couple household are clearly male from the perspective of both sexes. Wash, make food and make childcare, on the other hand, are largely the responsibility of women. There is a striking discrepancy when it comes to finance: While the majority of men think that insurance and financial matters are their domain, women see it as much as their cause.
According to the examination, whoever does what is mainly determined by women. “Men and women largely agree that the duties were distributed according to their own skills and ideas and that the ideas of women were the decisive criterion,” the study said.
Effects on the labor market
Nevertheless, it is in the end the women who are more dissatisfied with the division of tasks in the partnership. On a scale of 0 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), the men reached an average of 7.7 and the women a 6.8. The women, who were mostly solely responsible for household things, were much more dissatisfied than those who shared the tasks with their partner.
The division of tasks also has an impact on the labor market. According to the analysis, a stronger burden on women with household work means that on average, they do less gainful employment. This applies in particular when children are involved. The authors therefore call for further efforts from politics and companies to create better reconciliation of acquisition and care work- for men and for women. “We shouldn’t be surprised if women are not fully employed again after the children’s phase,” says Luisa Kunze, labor market expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation. She demands: “Men have to perceive their responsibility in the household and family more and also use offers such as bridge part -time and flexible working time models for this purpose.”
Source: Stern