Dual income households in Japan and the gender gap with housework

Dividing household chores is one of those things that sounds simple enough in theory, but anyone living with a partner or raising a family knows how quickly things can become uneven in practice. A recent survey caught my attention because the results suggest women are still taking on much more of the housework, even when both partners are working.

The survey collected responses from 1,459 people in dual-income households, and found that around 63% of women in those partnerships handled at least 70% of the housework. There was also quite a difference in how men and women viewed the arrangement. Around 82% of men said they were happy with the division of chores, compared with just over half of women.

I can see why this would be a talking point, especially as more couples in Japan are juggling jobs alongside family life. There's the obvious work of cooking, cleaning and doing laundry, but also all the little things that need remembering, often referred to as the "mental load". Who needs to be where, what's running low in the fridge, when the next appointment is, and what everyone needs for the week ahead = possibly more exhausting than the actual physical chores!!

If you're in a dual-income household here, how do you find the division of household chores?