Just when you think men and women are well on their way to becoming equal you realise that’s definitely not the case. In what I consider the most annoying claim by researchers of 2016 so far, a new report on equality has found that marriages in which men do chores are more likely to end in divorce.
See what I mean by annoying?
At first I assumed this was one of those lame surveys made up by a bunch of old-fashioned men (*cough*Donald Trump*cough) who want to discourage equality. Sadly it’s reputable research out of the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Science in Norway.
Next I tried to blame it on the peculiarity of Norwegian men however as I read through the report I found a few things hitting a touch too close to home and researchers even conclude that couples are probably better off living in a “traditional” household.
Mamamia Out Loud on why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are getting divorced. Article continues after this video.
I think I’d rather get divorced than do that.
Norwegian researchers examined how almost 20,000 married men and women divide housework and childcare. The results found that 65 per cent of couples divide childcare almost equally but not boring old housework, which women still get stuck with.
Couples may be better off living in a “traditional” household where women do all the housework if they want to stay together, according to a report from the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Science.
Norwegian researchers were interested to see how married and cohabiting men and women divided housework and childcare throughout various life stages. They analyzed two separate studies involving nearly 20,000 men and women aged 18 to 79: the study of Life Course, Generation and Gender, and the study of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing, and Generations. Participants respectively answered questions about the division of housework and childcare; their attitudes toward gender equality; as well as other variables like life stage and social class.
Top Comments
This observation (between housework and divorce) is simply a correlation, and speaks nothing about any causal factors. Most likely, it's because married women who do most/all of the domestic duties are also the ones who are the most financially dependent on their husbands (i.e. they do not have full-time, decent-paying jobs), and so even when they're dissatisfied in their marriage, they do not have the option to divorce. In contrast, women who work full-time hours and earn higher salaries tend to have husbands who take on a more equal share of the housework -- likely out of necessity -- so any inkling of marital dissatisfaction provokes divorce (and these women have the means to be able to do so). Another correlation could be what was mentioned in the article -- that couples with "traditional" attitudes about gender roles are also the ones with more "traditional" attitudes towards marriage (i.e. less likely to divorce even when the couple is unhappy). All in all, it's all about correlation and nothing about cause-and-effect.
I do hope foolish misogynists do not tag onto this study and falsely proclaim it to be "evidence" that women should stay in the kitchen.