{"id":8567,"date":"2016-07-30T11:55:41","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T06:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/?p=8567"},"modified":"2017-01-04T15:59:54","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T10:29:54","slug":"why-do-women-only-have-to-carry-household-responsibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/why-do-women-only-have-to-carry-household-responsibilities.html","title":{"rendered":"Expecting your Wife to do all the Household Work is a major cause of her Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women have always been and still are responsible for the\u00a0majority of the housework. This notion is so ingrained that on reading this, most of us will not be amazed or question the statement. Why has it become stereotypical for women to pitch in more when it comes to chores?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marriage has traditionally been a functional construct, wherein men are expected to financially provide for their family, while women are responsible for the household chores and raising of the children. Giving birth to a child is the greatest gift of god, however, time spent during pregnancy and childbirth impacts women\u2019s productivity, keeping women less involved in chores outside the house and has led to an\u00a0easy solution to the\u00a0division of labour.<\/p>\n

Studies have also found that girls are asked to do more work around the house than boys. This practice delivers a strong message for both genders: girls learn that housework naturally falls under their domain, and boys learn to depend on girls for chores as well. <\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Some studies<\/a> have also shown that since women are regarded to have higher cleanliness standards, the household responsibilities naturally fall on them. <\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

This is especially evident in marketing messages which mostly feature women in advertisements related to home products.<\/p>\n

\"women-doing-household-chores\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, a significant reason for the\u00a0existence of the chore gap is due to the wage gap. Men spend more time working for money and women do the bulk of unpaid household chores This work is essential but \u201cis also valued less than paid work, and when it is women\u2019s responsibility, it prevents them from doing other things<\/a>.\u201dWhen the time women spend on unpaid work shrinks, labour force participation increases by as much as 20 percent.<\/p>\n

The impact of this \u201cchore gap\u201d, the difference between the amount of housework done by women and men, is immense,<\/h3>\n

Firstly,<\/strong> it provides a disincentive for women to look for jobs beyond the realms of the household.<\/p>\n

Secondly<\/strong> and more importantly, \u201cunfairness in the division of household\u00a0labour can lead to feelings of anxiety, demoralisation, depression and worry<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0Housework can also cause distress in a marriage because it offers \u201cless recognition and minimal feelings of accomplishment, compared to paid work.\u00a0This dissatisfaction can lead to marital discord, unhappiness, and low self-esteem for women.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

India\u2019s <\/strong>chore gap is the largest in any country for which data is available, according to World Economic Forum\u2019s study in 2014<\/a>.<\/strong><\/div>\n

Our country has seen a lot of growth and development. However, in terms of empowering women, we haven\u2019t done enough. Our women are now doctors, scientists, engineers, and leading businesswomen, why is household still a woman\u2019s job? How can we change it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some of the ways in which we can make little changes to make the division of chores more equitable:<\/h2>\n

1.\u00a0Set a strong example:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a mother, make sure you are delegating tasks to all family members, as a father, ensure that you help out with chores. In fact, men can actively promote gender equality: by taking parental leave, by sharing the double shift of childcare and housework, by helping out with simple chores such as laundry and washing dishes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Get the boys involved early:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Start small, start strong. Cultivate household responsibility at an early age so that it becomes ingrained when they grow up. Besides, studies<\/a> have shown that giving children household chores at an early age helps to build a lasting sense of mastery, responsibility, and self-reliance.<\/p>\n

3. Find champions in both men and women:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Look for examples around you of women you admire and how men have been instrumental in contributing to their success.<\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t call it a women\u2019s issue:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It should concern every brother, father, and husband. A very touching ad campaign by Ariel #ShareTheLoad<\/a> thoughtfully and sentimentally dwells on partnering with men to better delegate chores. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook\u2019s COO, applauded the ad saying it was the \u201cmost powerful videos I have ever seen <\/a>\u2013 showing how stereotypes hurt all of us and are passed from generation to generation.\u00a0Share the concept; have the dialogue.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Don\u2019t be too fussy:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Be flexible in terms of household standard. Agree on the \u201cmust-do\u201d and \u201cshould-do\u201d jointly with your significant other and keep each other accountable for it<\/a>.Make it easy. Invest in products that may reduce the overall time invested in household chores.<\/p>\n

6. Learn to appreciate:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When the men help out, don\u2019t take it for granted. Smile and be gracious. Most of the time we complain and do not appreciate the effort,\u00a0 love and care put in by the spouse.<\/p>\n

7. Be Assertive:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Men may not always be the most intuitive, so don\u2019t expect them to read your mind. When you need help, explain and ask for it. It is likely that they were just clueless.<\/p>\n

8. Make it fun:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Plan goals and rewards on completion of goals. Do not take it as a burden.\u00a0 Celebrate, play music, spend time together shopping and doing activities that you enjoy.<\/p>\n

Reduction of the\u00a0chore gap is necessary to bring harmony in the\u00a0family, respect for women in the house, general feeling of happiness, satisfaction and understanding. This will also lead to an increase in productivity levels of women in various professions and overall productivity of the\u00a0nation.<\/p>\n

We have a long way to go to close the chore gap but little steps lead to big victories. However, you can try to build strong family bonds. Get personalised plans<\/a>, dedicated coaches and tips to build family bonds stronger.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Women have always been and still are responsible for the\u00a0majority of the housework. This notion is so ingrained that on reading this, most of us will not be amazed or question the statement. Why has it become stereotypical for women to pitch in more when it comes to chores? Marriage has traditionally been a functional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-love-relationship","category-parental-relationships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}