By Silje Stangeland
Norwegian women spend three times as many hours on housework than men do. Still, Norwegian couples are among those who spend less time on domestic work in the world, says sociology professor Knud Knudsen at the University of Stavanger.
He has studied the work input made by spouses in their homes in relation to national levels of gender equality and economic development. In a comprehensive comparative study women and men’s housework has been mapped in 34 countries.
Under the auspices of The International Social Survey Program (ISSP) around 18 000 couples from the age of 25 to 65 answered questions on how much time they spent weekly on cooking, washing, tidying up, shopping and care.
UiS researcher Knud Knudsen and coauthor Kari Wærnes at the University of Bergen found several interesting patterns in and between the different countries.
The input of the partners and the distribution between them are influenced by the position of women in society and the national economic level. Factors on the macro level influence the micro level in the home and in everyday life, Knudsen says.
In every country women work more
According to the survey Norwegian women spend 12 weekly hours on housework while Norwegian men spend just over four. Even if Norwegian women do least domestic work in the world, Norwegian men do little housework compared to men in other countries. The women’s part of domestic work is proportionately high also in Norway.
It may be an exaggeration that gender equality is so far advanced in Norway. It is strange that we have not progressed more, Knudsen says, and continues:
There are no modern countries in the world where men do more, or as much, housework than women. Women perform two thirds of all domestic work in the world, he says.
Read more