SuppliedThe gender divide in housework remains consistent, according to a study published by researchers at the University of Alberta. According to the study, disparities in housework distribution often remain unchanged during a relationship’s lifespan, with women taking on the majority of housework.
Matthew Johnson, a professor in the department of human ecology, co-authored this study along with sociologists Nancy Galambos, Harvey Krahn, and Michelle Maroto. Spanning 25 years, the study analyzed the differences between men and women’s contributions to housework.
“It started when they were 25 years old. Then we followed up with them when they were in their thirties, forties, and then ultimately at age 50,” Johnson said. Data was first gathered in the early 1990s and the last check-in was in 2017.
According to the study, women did more housework than their male partners at age 25, and this trend continued at age 50. Additionally, the study found that once children were born, men’s contributions to housework decreased further.
“We didn’t see evidence that men increased their housework over that period. If anything, once kids were born men decreased their housework,” Johnson said. By contrast, the study found that women’s contributions to housework increased once children were born.
“Once that pattern was set, it tended to persist over decades,” Johnson says
The study indicated that the patterns of behaviour regarding housework division stay stagnant over time.
“Once that pattern was set, it tended to persist over decades,” Johnson said. He found that there was “a lot of power in how things settle early on.”
At the beginning of the study, the division of labour was heavily gendered. The study’s multiple surveys found that the women did the majority of housework. These were tasks like cooking, cleaning, shopping, and laundry, among others.
This pattern lasted throughout the 25-year study. Johnson attributes this to a newer discovery — relationships don’t fluctuate as much as originally thought.
“We realized that relationships are stable in a lot of ways,” Johnson said. According to Johnson, behaviours and patterns set early on in the relationship tend to stay constant throughout the couples’ lives.
“The positive spin of that is if things are going pretty well, it is reasonable to expect that they will continue to go well. On the flip side, if there are parts of your relationship that aren’t going well, they’re not going to get better naturally,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, change is possible but requires a “concerted effort”
Change in relationships is possible but does require “concerted effort and negotiation among partners,” Johnson said.
When it comes to changing these patterns, Johnson thinks that couples should try to treat the distribution of housework “somewhat objectively.”
“This is one of the few things in a relationship where you really can be objective. Get some data to diagnose the problem. And then based on that information, have a conversation with your partner and try to figure out something reasonable.”
