THE PROBLEM
21 hrs per week
An average couple in the UK spends 21 hours per week on cooking, laundry, and housework
45 days per year
This adds up to 45 days of chores per year
8 years in total
Over the course of an average lifetime, a couple will spend 8 years combined on chores
Couples spend a lot of time on household management; chores are non-stop and often unglamorous, ill-defined, and challenging to talk about. In collaboration with Dr. Allison Daminger, Fairshare identified 9 Common Barriers to Cognitive Labor Equality. Read more in Allison's post here.
9 Common Barriers to Cognitive Labor Equality
LACK OF AWARENESS
I see a problem but my partner doesn't. For instance...
My partner doesn't see the full scope of what I do for our home/kids.
My partner recognizes that I do a lot of the planning but thinks it's not really work, it's just me stressing myself out!
My partner assumes I like things the way they are, but in fact I wish they were more equitable.
VALUES MISMATCH
My partner thinks on some level that household labor should be unequal
CARE DIFFERENTIAL
We'd like to share the load, but I just care a lot more about these issues or have higher standards than my partner (e.g., I care about having a clean home when guests come over, they don't)
SKILL DIFFERENTIAL
We'd like to share the load more equitably, but I'm just way better at most of these tasks than my partner is
STYLE CLASH
My partner and I are very different people - they're more of a "fly by the seat of their pants type, and I like to have things planned in advance, so I tend to get to tasks first
CIRCUMSTANTIAL CONSTRAINTS
We agree that something closer to equality would be better, but our circumstances (e.g., our work hours, who works from home, our kids' ages, etc.) prevent us from getting there
SEXIST SOCIETY / SYSTEMS
My partner and I are on the same page, but we face an uphill battle with our parents/friends/neighbors/kids' teachers, who assume that one of us is more responsible for domestic matters than the other
MANAGER / HELPER DILEMMA
My partner is involved but still looks to me as the ultimate authority. And/or my partner wants to take on more, but I can't fully let them because I'm afraid they won't do it, or won't do it well
INERTIA
We both want to change but it feels too hard/tiring, and we are too locked into our existing patterns
