Hofferth on housework disproportion
Minda Zetlin, writing for Inc., reports that parents tend to expect their daughters to do more of the household chores than their sons. Previous research shows that 15-to-19-year old girls spend an average of 45 minutes doing chores per day, while boys do, on average, 30 minutes. These striking differences tend to set daughters up to be less successful as adults. Even parents who are fair in assigning chores to their children can project the wrong message if they do not show a fair division of housework among themselves. Thus, boys who do not see their fathers actively engaged in housework are less likely to develop fair share of housework as adults. Research findings made by Faculty Associate Sandra Hofferth state, “That can create an advantage for those young men, not in the workplace but in their personal lives. That's because successful and financially independent women tend to prefer partners who do their fair share of household chores,” Finally, parents should give equal treatment to their children to avoid disfavor of girls.