A study released by the Department of Labor on Tuesday has found that the average working woman spends roughly twice as much time caring for children and on household chores than the average working man, confirming that divisions of labor based on gender still exist. The study also found that almost as many women as men have jobs, with 78 percent of women employed relative to 85 percent of men, the New York Times reports. At the end of the work day, however, two-thirds of the women surveyed started what women’s rights activists call their “double day,” preparing meals and performing chores around the house. Comparatively, only 34 percent of men reported helping with meals, and only 19 percent reported doing housework. The survey of 21,000 Americans was conducted by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Feedback was separated into 12 categories and 426 subcategories of activity, allowing for personalized answers, according to the St Petersburg Times. The survey was the first in a new program aimed at tracking the trends of how Americans use their time. Diane Herz, the survey’s project manager, told the New York Times, “We got two different reactions from people to these results. Some said it proved that nothing had changed between men and women. Others were surprised that the differences weren’t greater.” JOIN the Feminist Majority
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