Who knew? We all grumble about doing housework, but when we started researching, we had no idea how huge an issue housework really was. Depending on the culture, it's a huge part of family structures and dynamics. It's literally role defining. At the same time, there's more at stake than just a load of dirty laundry. Housework even effects marital happiness. A study in the Netherlands determined that division of household labor was a source for conflicts in 91 percent of its partnerships.* Which is going to sound gender roles are what we're going to address here. Well, yes, and no. We have information on gender roles here as well as in our memos on Family Structure. Also, for comparisons between paid and unpaid work, check out our page on How People Spend Their Time: The Factbook: Eye Opening Facts On All Things Family.

And, given the significance of housework, here's some information about the work itself. In Who's Doing It?, we have information on if husbands and wives do – or don't – share the chores. Note the husbands and wives' responses to that question – that isn't what they are actually doing – but it's what they think they are doing. And they do not agree.** In How Have Things Changed? we track some of the changes in time spent in housework over the past 40 years. And more importantly, we answer the question of why you remember your mother's house being so much cleaner and organized than yours. No, really – we think we do! And in What Really Changes Who Does It? we look at what really effects the household division of labor – is it women earning a living, education or Women's Lib? You'll probably be most surprised at those answers. We were.