Does The House Hold Gender Divide Still Exist?

To mark the launch our new website we thought we’d revisit an old topic. When we first started our business back in 2010 we asked whether the Household Gender Divide still existed In UK.

A poll in 2010 of 2,000 UK couples found that the household gender divide did still exist - with men doing the DIY and mowing the lawn, and women doing the dusting and ironing.

The survey, published by online supermarket Ocado to mark the launch of household cleaning products (including anti-bacterial surface spray and washing-up liquid revealed that over four decades since Britain’s ‘sexual revolution’ men and women are still being associated with the same stereotypical household tasks.

In 2010 those tasks were a massive cause of arguments between couples…

93 per cent of men said they change the light bulb when it blows, 90 per cent do the DIY, 83 per cent mow the lawn and 79 per cent take out the rubbish.

88 per cent of women said they dust the house, 78 per cent iron the laundry, 77 per cent sweep the floor, 75 per cent cook ‘most meals’, and 70 per cent wash-up dirty plates.

The survey also identified the 'most hated' household chores - cleaning the oven came top with 45 per cent of votes, followed by cleaning the toilet (13 per cent) and ‘unclogging hair from plug and sink holes’ (9 per cent).

Other most hated household jobs included washing the dishes (6 per cent), doing the laundry (5 per cent), vacuuming (5 per cent), making the bed (3 per cent) and dusting (3 per cent).

When asked to vote on their partners’ most annoying dirty habits respondents answered: - Dirty plates in the sink - 39 per cent - Dirty socks on the bedroom floor - 36 per cent - Letting the bin overflow - 34 per cent - Splashing toilet seat when peeing - 26 per cent - Hair in the plughole - 24 per cent - Leaving tea bags lying around - 20 per cent - Nail clippings left lying around - 13 per cent

Another of the surveys’ findings related to chores and arguments. 43 per cent of those polled admitted to having five chore-related rows per week, 8 per cent admitted to 10 fights, while 3 per cent said household chores led to more than 20 arguments.

Finally, when asked who did the most around the house, 66 per cent of all respondents took credit, with just 34 per cent nobly admitting partners did the lion's share.

Well it seems that not much has changed over the last 8 years!

According to the ‘Guardian’, research shows that British women do 60% more housework. Is there any hope for balance when it comes to emptying the bins?

Check out the Guardian's 'Dirty secret: why is there still a housework gender gap?'

At I Love Cleaning we’re still here to offer you the perfect remedy. We're able to take some of that pain away with range of professional cleaning services to suit most people.

So if you want to spend less time arguing over who’s going to clean the kitchen, then give us a shout! 01922 621117