It is women doing the cleaning usually though
Today’s women appear to have it all - greater freedom, equal rights and more choice but they still can't rely on men to help in the home. A new report released today to mark the centenary of the first ever washing powder reveals husbands and partners are still responsible for less than a quarter (22 per cent) of the housework.
Although women acknowledge that they have less household responsibilities than previous generations, British women still spend on average almost six hours a week on household chores, with mothers spending 30.5 hours a week on cleaning, washing and childcare. It seems that men are yet to catch up with the social revolution, as the research commissioned by Persil to commemorate its 100 year anniversary, found that whether we work or not, four out of ten of our husbands or partners still do less than half of the housework, and one in ten do not do any at all.
Furthermore, the research shows that the defining qualities of women in 2009 are being multi-skilled (84 per cent) and versatile (63 per cent) and it is this fast-paced lifestyle, together with a lack of help from partners, that means 39 per cent of full-time working women feel it is impossible to look after their home as well as they would like.
Spokesperson Dr. Stella Moss of Oxford University comments; "In the last hundred years women have witnessed huge changes. At the turn of the century a woman’s place was invariably in the home but changes in attitudes as well as better technology has meant that we now enjoy greater freedom than our mothers and grandmothers. It’s interesting to see that although we assume that men and women now take on a more equal role in the home, there is a substantial gap between this and the reality."
Despite baring the brunt of the housework, women admit to enjoying it, with a quarter genuinely embracing the role of homemaker positively and over two thirds (63 per cent) saying that they cherish the role. Perhaps surprisingly, women are increasingly drawn to spending more time at home, with 41 per cent of full-time working women acknowledging that they would like to be at home more.
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