New Study Finds Gender Imbalance in Division of Labor in Marriages, Even When Wives Earn the Same or More Than Husbands

A new study from the Pew Research Center has found that even when wives earn about the same as their husbands or more, they still spend more time on housework and child care, while their husbands spend more time on paid work and leisure. The study found that wives in these marriages spend roughly 2 hours more per week on caregiving than husbands do and about 2.5 hours more on housework.

The study also found that husbands in these marriages spend about 3.5 hours more per week on leisure activities than wives do. This imbalance in time spent on leisure activities is despite the fact that financial contributions have become more equal in marriages.

The study also looked at attitudes towards affirmative action. It found that while there is a majority who favor affirmative action in general, there are comparably fewer who favor colleges considering race. Those who feel there’s a lot of discrimination in the country also tend to favor affirmative action in general.

The study found that in 29% of heterosexual marriages today, women and men earn about the same (roughly $60,000 each). This suggests that while financial contributions have become more equal in marriages, the way couples divide their time between paid work and home life remains unbalanced.

Overall, the study highlights the continuing gender imbalance in the division of labor in marriages, even when wives earn the same or more than their husbands. It also suggests that attitudes towards affirmative action are closely divided, with a narrow majority supporting it.