Across the great divide: Household chores

As part of our annual kitchen-remodeling special section, which will appear in the August 2008 issue, the Consumer Reports National Research Center asked homeowners nationwide about their kitchens. The questions focused mainly on how folks interact with their kitchens: how many small appliances they own, what causes the most clutter, where they eat their meals, and so on. But we also covered gender issues, asking participants about cooking and cleaning in their homes. Women still do the majority of the cooking, but when it comes to postmeal cleanup, 54 percent of men said they usually perform the task.

I was reminded of these findings on June 15, when The New York Times Magazine marked Father’s Day with the coverline “Will Dad Ever Do His Share?” for the issue’s main feature. As a new father, I felt compelled to read the story. So while my wife changed the baby and tidied up our apartment, I dove headlong into the article. (Only kidding. Our daughter was napping and the apartment was clean.)

Drawing on the University of Wisconsin’s National Survey of Families and Households, author Lisa Belkin found some pretty stark disparities in household labor. In homes where both parents have full-time jobs, the wife does 28 hours of housework compared with 16 hours for the husband.

Granted, my wife and I have been parents for only a few months, but I think we’re achieving some parity. I like to cook, so most meal prep falls to me. My wife is crazy for folding and sorting, so she keeps the closets in order. We are still settling into a system for the rest of the work but hope to keep it 50-50—or as close as possible. And based on the results of our latest kitchen poll, we’re not the only ones. To be fair, the Times article also included a few couples who live by absolute equality.

So what do you think? Should equal labor be the law of the household? And if so, how do you achieve it? My wife and I are new to the parenting game and will take all the help you can offer. Send in a note to let us know how things work at your home.—Daniel DiClerico