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Women do 2 more hours of housework daily than men, study says

Keeping a house tidy is a time-consuming endeavor. Is there a way to make sure the load is more balanced?
/ Source: TODAY

Do you and your partner argue about who does more housework? You may not be alone.

A new study has found that women put in more time than men when it comes to keeping their homes in order.

Women in the United States spend two hours more each day cleaning, cooking, taking care of children and doing other unpaid work than men, according to a report by Oxfam and the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

The study, which analyzes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey, found that women aged 15 and older spend 5.7 hours daily doing housework and looking after kids and elders, while men in the same age range do so for 3.6 hours each day. That’s about 37% more time dedicated to keeping things running smoothly in the house.

Women ages 15-24 spend 54% more time on housework than men the same age and women ages 25-34 spend 51% more time on those chores.

The gap exists for women who work, as well, which becomes more glaring when you factor in that they earn 79 cents to a man's dollar, according to NBC News senior business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle.

Women who work at least 35 hours a week spend 4.9 hours on household work, while men who work those same hours spend 3.8 hours on household work. That’s a 22% difference.

The findings take on added meaning because according to the statistics bureau, women have 50.04% of jobs in the U.S., as of last month. It's the first time in nearly a decade that they have the majority of jobs.

All that housework adds up, but doesn’t necessarily pay off. Women spend 95 more eight-hour work days per year on unpaid work, which is the equivalent of $1.48 trillion.

So, is there a solution to bridge the difference?

"Policies like guaranteed paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, and elimination of the gender wage gap will go a long way toward creating a better balance that permits families to decide what makes the most sense without sexist social and economic pressure," Oxfam says.