A new study is causing working moms everywhere to let out a collective groan, even though they may not actually be too surprised by its findings. According to researchers at the University of Bath, mothers are still doing more housework than their male partners — even when they're bringing in more money.
The study was published just last month
And, although it was conducted by researchers in the UK, it examined the domestic responsibilities and income earnings of more than 6,000 heterosexual couples living in North America.
It was titled, "Gendered Housework: Spousal Relative Income, Parenthood and Traditional Gender Identity Norms", and according to its study authors, the research is key to understanding a main source of conflict many couples face after having kids.
The participants ranged in age and included both married and non-married couples; but they all had to have a few things in common. Aside from sharing one or more children, they also had to be living under the same roof and therefore in a position to divvy up household tasks. Ultimately, researchers wanted to examine the so-called "gender housework gap" that appears to persist, despite changes in the home and workplace.
Most people would assume that the "breadwinner" of the family has the more demanding job
Though this isn't always the case, it's true that higher pay often comes with more responsibilities, which can lead to more projects, more meetings, more emails, and (unfortunately) more stress.
As a result, the breadwinner parent might be even more burned out when they come home from work, leaving them with less time, energy, or desire to tackle things around the house.
In the past, this has typically been the husband's role
(At least when it comes to most heterosexual couples.)
But in recent years, you might expect to have seen that shift — not just as more women have entered the workforce, but also as an increasing number of them return to work after having children and, moreover, continue to rise up in their chosen careers.
But that's apparently not so, say UK researchers, who found that it didn't seem to matter who earns more money in a couple. At the end of the day, the lion's share of household tasks typically fall on the mother, regardless of how much (or how little) she brings home.
But here's what's even more surprising ...
In looking even closer at the data, Dr. Syrda and her team actually found that the more money a mother earned in her career, the more housework she actually took on.
And, for whatever reason, this mostly happened within married couples.
“Married couples that fail to replicate the traditional division of income may be perceived – both by themselves and others – to be deviating from the norm," Dr. Syrda explained. "What may be happening is that, when men earn less than women, couples neutralize this by increasing traditionality through housework – in other words, wives do more and husbands do less as they try to offset this ‘abnormal’ situation by leaning into other conventional gender norms."
Feeling kinda rage-y yet? Just wait ...
The results are understandably frustrating to hear — especially for women who've spent years trying to shatter glass ceilings or break into new fields that are typically dominated by men. Dr. Syrda, who works with the university’s School of Management and helped lead the study, was surprised by this, too.
“Of course, we understand why specialized division of labor exists, but there is no reason for this specialization to be gender-specific," said Dr. Syrda in a press release. "Traditional division has been conventionally explained by men earning more and working longer hours and has a certain logical appeal.”
While more research is still needed, these findings shouldn't be shrugged off
“This is important, because how couples divide the increased domestic workload after becoming parents will be an important determinant of earnings inequalities between women and men over the course of their lives – a pattern once settled upon is often difficult to renegotiate," said Dr. Syrda. "And these norms may be passed to their children."
