A new study by the LSE shows that men who do little housework are in very much greater danger of divorce.
Is this stating the obvious? I read in comment in The Times online that people thought it was. It does look obvious. But isn't there a very big difference between knowing the obvious and doing something about it? I do wonder if the housework is sort of incidental, it could be anything that shows the female partner that she is valued, being noticed and thought about perhaps? I say this partly due to the fact that the effect of more male housework is the same whether women are working or not.
It does strike me, though, as odd that in 2010 we are talking about men "helping" with the housework. This seems to assume that it is mainly a job for the woman--not my experience I have to say!
Apparently, 51% of men is the study did either none or one thing and 21% two. So, 72% of men do none to two things per week. Blimey! How do they get away with it?
The research found, relative to families where women are homemakers and men do little housework and childcare, the risk of divorce is 97% higher when the mother works outside the home and her husband makes a minimal contribution to housework and childcare.
How much housework does you / your spouse do as a %?
Andrew Woolley
Family lawyer