Men and women are doing much more housework, but who’s doing the most?

SALT LAKE CITY — Both men and women are ramping up their housework participation while staying home during the pandemic. But it looks like women are still doing more of that work. 

That’s according to research from several universities including the University of Utah.

Sociologist Daniel L. Carlson, Ph.D., from the University of Utah joined with his colleagues, Joanna R. Pepin, Ph.D., of the University of Texas at Austin and Richard Petts, Ph.D., from Ball State University, to research how things have changed in the home while parents are stuck indoors during the pandemic.

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While many couples are sharing the workload fairly evenly, and men are definitely increasing their amount of housework, women remain primarily in charge of homeschooling, the researchers found. 

Of all the homes sampled, 50% of women are responsible for the education of the children, while 12% of men take on that responsibility.  And 28% of households say it is shared between both mom and dad.

Read more: Staying social during social distancing: some things you can do from home

Researchers did find substantial increases in the sharing of routine housework and care of young children between men and women since the pandemic began.

Many mothers say their spouses increased the amount of time spent with the children and doing household chores.  Those women say their husbands increased their home activities by 25%.

However, researchers found men tended to inflate their own perception of their contribution. When men are asked if they are doing more, they state their household chores and taking care of the kids increased by 43%. 

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