Parents are more stressed than ever before, according to a recent Advisory by the U.S. Surgeon General. Yet the pressure of parenting does not fall equally on women and men. For families with children under 18 at home, the division of home responsibilities is grossly unequal. Mothers—whether they are married or single—do significantly more than fathers.
And it is not just among parents that women carry the load of essential work in the home. Across all groups, women are significantly more likely than men to spend more time on unpaid work in the home.
Gender Equity Policy Institute’s “The Free-Time Gender Gap” examines the gender disparities in time spent on unpaid childcare and household work, as well as the free-time gender gap which emerges alongside these imbalances. Analyzing data from the 2022 American Time Use Survey, we find that women consistently spend more time than men taking care of children and doing household work like cooking, laundry, and cleaning. We also uncover a free-time gender gap; women across almost every group studied have less free time than men to socialize, relax, and pursue their interests and hobbies.
In fact, simply being a woman is linked to spending more time on unpaid childcare and household work and having less free time, even when controlling for age, income, race/ ethnicity, and marital status, as determined by multivariable regressions conducted by the Institute.
Gender gaps in free time and time spent on childcare and household work are deeply rooted in longstanding cultural and social norms dictating women’s proper role in the home and family. Although shifts in America’s economy, culture, and belief systems have disrupted traditional gender norms and roles, the analysis presented here demonstrates that disparities in how men and women spend time remain pervasive. And there is no evidence that these gender gaps have narrowed in recent years. Policy change and cultural shifts both are necessary to rebalance these household responsibilities and advance gender equity in the United States.
