Gallup poll: Women still do more household chores than men

Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Women still accomplish the majority of household chores in the United States, a Gallup poll released Wednesday indicates.

Households involving heterosexual couples still divide responsibilities along traditional lines, with laundry, housekeeping, home decor and meal preparation largely the domain of women, while men are the primary handlers of car maintenance and yardwork.

The survey indicated that women are responsible in 58 percent of households for doing the laundry, in 51 percent for house cleaning, in 51 percent for preparing meals and in 62 percent for décor decisions. Men's responsibilities include car maintenance in 69 percent of homes and yardwork in 59 percent. Respondents said men and women are equally likely to be the primary bill payer, savings or investment decision-maker and planner of family activities.

Although women remain in charge of domestic household duties, the number of women who say they are primary shoppers for groceries has declined by 14 percentage points since 1996. Women are also less likely to be the person in charge of laundry, down by 12 percentage points; of cooking, down by 12 percentage points; and dishwashing, down by 11 percentage points. The distribution of these tasks has become more equitable since 1996, the poll indicates.

In households that include at least one child under 18, men are more involved in the day-to-day domestic duties, including child care. The survey also noted that in two-income households with children in which the man's job is better-paying than that of the woman, the woman shoulders more of the household burden of chores. When the salaries are roughly equal, men take on more of the household responsibilities.

Results of the survey were based on telephone interviews conducted in June, July and August of 2019, with a combined random sample of 3,062 heterosexual married or cohabitating adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error is plus-or-minus 2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70 percent cellphone respondents and 30 percent landline respondents.