Overview

• According to the 2023 FReDA panel survey of about 17,700 heterosexual Germans aged 20 to 52, women spend roughly 13 hours per week on domestic chores, about twice as much as their male partners.
• About one in five women in relationships with uneven household task distribution has thought about ending the partnership over the chore imbalance.
• Couples who initially share housework equally often revert to a traditional division of labor once their first child arrives, deepening the domestic workload gap.
• Routine tasks such as washing, cleaning and cooking fall predominantly to women, while men handle repairs in around 80 percent of households.
• The BiB study calls for supportive measures, including a dedicated family budget and more flexible working hours, to help young families balance domestic duties.