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Household responsibilities are still unevenly split between men and women worldwide. In some countries, women do three to seven times more household tasks than men, especially when it comes to childcare.
The Equimundo Center for Masculinity and Social Justice, based in Washington, D.C., says one of the key prerequisites for gender equality is the active involvement of men and boys in household duties. Recently, the center surveyed fathers’ roles in childcare and other domestic responsibilities.
The survey polled 12,000 men and women — many of them parents — across 17 countries. It focused on who in families cares for children and other dependents and how people view the gendered division of household responsibilities, per Phys.org.
Most men who took part in the survey said they help with childcare and would like to do more, but they face many obstacles, including social norms. The results point to progress, but the pace of change remains slow.
Men Are Becoming More Responsible for Childcare
Despite some progress, unequal caregiving responsibilities still prevent many women from accessing well-paying jobs.
The International Labour Organization estimated that in 2018, 606 million working-age women were unable to enter the workforce because of household duties. That burden has harmed women’s physical and mental health.
The new survey found that mothers still carry a large share of household chores — cleaning, physical and emotional care for children, cooking, and caring for partners. In all 17 countries surveyed, women reported caring for children 1.32 times more often and cleaning their homes 1.36 times more often than men.
However, fathers in countries such as Argentina, Ireland, China, Croatia, and Rwanda also reported spending significant time on unpaid household tasks.
The study’s authors attribute these shifts to several factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, changing gender norms around childcare, and updated parental leave policies.
In 15 countries, 70–90% of men agreed with the statement: “I feel just as responsible for caregiving as my partner.”
In some places the shift is striking: in South Africa (85%) and Rwanda (93%), large majorities of men disagreed with the statement “Boys should not be taught to sew, cook, clean, and care for their siblings.”
Willingness to Share Responsibilities Depends on Emotional Maturity
Men who were more emotionally mature and open to seeking emotional support were two to eight times more likely to help a family member than men who struggled with their emotions.
Men who spent more time on household duties reported feeling better emotionally and physically. Men satisfied with their involvement in parenting were 1.5 times more likely to agree with the statement: “I am the person I always wanted to be,” and they reported more gratitude for how their lives turned out than respondents who were not satisfied with their parenting.
The study found that women were more likely than men to express concerns about childcare policies, healthcare, and gender equality in their countries. The rising cost of living worried a majority of both genders, though women raised the issue slightly more often (58%) than men (53%).
The vast majority of respondents said they had taken part in initiatives to improve childcare policies. Seventy-four percent discussed the issue with friends and family, while 39% of women and 36% of men signed online petitions.
