Study Reveals Men Overestimate Their Contribution to Housework

New research highlights significant gender disparities in perceptions of household labor and its impact on women's satisfaction and workforce participation.

A study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung surveyed 1,620 adults in heterosexual relationships, finding stark differences in how men and women perceive the division of household responsibilities.
While 68% of men believe household tasks are shared equally, only 44% of women agree; 54% of women report bearing most of the burden compared to 22% of men who say the same about their partner.
Even in households where both partners work full-time, women report spending significantly more time on housework and childcare than men, with weekly gaps of 4 and 10 hours respectively.
Women are less satisfied with the division of labor, scoring 6.8 out of 10 on a satisfaction scale compared to men's 7.7, reflecting the strain of unequal workloads.
The study warns that traditional gender roles limit women's workforce participation and calls for greater adoption of flexible work policies and shared responsibilities by men.