Thread: Research: Men contribute more than Women

"Wives who claim their husbands should help out more around the house because women work a "double shift" at the office and in the home are misguided, according to research.

If both paid work and unpaid duties such as housework, care and voluntary work are taken into account, husbands actually contribute more than their fair share to the household, experts found.
According to a study of how people use their time, men in Britain spend marginally longer on "productive" work each day than women.

While many wives scale back their working hours or drop out of employment after having children, husbands will often work overtime to earn more income for the family.

Across Europe men and women spend the same number of hours on "productive" work each day, each working on average eight hours either in paid jobs or on unpaid duties.

Couples who have no children at home and who both have full time jobs are the only group where women's overall workload is greater than men's, the survey reported.

Dr Catherine Hakim, who carried out the study, said: "This data overturns the well-entrenched theory that women work disproportional long hours in jobs and at home in juggling family and work.

"Feminists constantly complain that men are not doing their fair share of domestic work. The reality is that most men already do more than their fair share."

Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, said: "What would be more informative would be to compare working men and working women.

"The evidence we have is that working women still pick up the bulk of the domestic responsibilities – the housework, all the stuff like organising the children's birthday parties and helping them with their homework."

The study, (How) can social policy and fiscal policy recognise unpaid family work?, found that only 14 per cent of women in Britain prefer a work-centred lifestyle, compared with 69 per cent who would rather combine work and family life, and 17 per cent who feel the home is more important.

In spite of this, government policies across Europe tend to be aimed at full-time worker carers and ignore unpaid work, Dr Hakim claimed.

She said: "One-sided policies that support employment and careers but ignore the productive work done in the family are, in effect, endorsing market place values over family values.

"Furthermore, there is evidence that men are beginning to demand the same options and choices as women, with more claims of sex discrimination from men. Policy-makers need to be aiming for gender-neutral policies."

Peter Lynas, from the Relationships Foundation, a Cambridge based think tank, added: "Whether it’s paid or unpaid work, men and women are under pressure to spend time with their families. This report shows that the majority want to combine work and family, but many need help to do so.

"The Government is pushing ahead with the ‘Big Society’ agenda without families, which should be the most important element."

I won't even start arguing against this research, as I find it one-sided and biased, but I was wondering what you guys think.