Almost half of men believe they 'sharent' equally – but women disagree
Ayla Soguksu
Social and SEO writerAlmost half of men believe they share childcare and household responsibilities equally with their partners, but new Netmums research shows women are having none of it.
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Mums and dads have significantly different perceptions on who does the majority of the childcare and housework, Netmums reveals.
Surveying more than 2,000 UK parents, Netmums found that while mums and dads agree they should share responsibilities equally, twice as many men than women believe they've achieved equality in their own household.
Over a third of women say their partner sharing the childcare and housework is the ONE thing that would make the biggest difference to their overall happiness. Yet almost three quarters of mums said they still do the lion's share of the domestic work, regardless of their working hours.
On a more positive note, the research revealed that attitudes have come a long way in the last 20 years as both mums and dads agree how important it is to 'sharent'.
It's a fact that Netmums editor-in-chief Annie O'Leary says 'should be celebrated'.
But, there's still a lot of work to do. Annie says: 'The data speaks for itself. That's a lot of women sharing what can, at times, be an almost unbearable burden.'
Interviewing mums up and down the country, the 'Kitchen Think Tanks' revealed gender equality in the household is one of the biggest issues women face on a day-to-day basis.
Annie said: '... nothing else that was discussed generated as much emotion.'
She explained the incredible difference between what men and women believe about the household split can be tracked back to 'centuries of parenting that has seen men take a backseat and women shoulder the burden.
'Yes, dads today are doing more,' she continued, 'but – clearly – it’s only a fraction of what’s required.'
So, what can be done to help?
Annie said the Netmums report is a significant step in the right direction and, to push things further, she called on employers to allow mums and dads the freedom to parent equally, saying:
'Initiatives like shared parental leave are providing a framework for people to co-parent in a way that we’ve never been able to before, but we need to make sure the world of work plays ball and doesn’t penalise parents for time taken.
'And we still need to win the unequal pay battle, which still means most families can’t afford for a dad to take as much time off as a mum.'
And efforts can't stop there.
The Netmums report found 77% of parents feel they're not adequately represented and Annie is calling for more varied examples of family life to be included in the media and advertising.
In light of this research, Netmums has launched a brand new podcast series called 'The Kitchen Think', where Annie will discuss the reality of modern parenting with household name guests, as well as everyday parents.
Netmums has also created a first-person series called Netmums Voices, where real-life parents share their unique parenting perspectives.
Each week, a diverse parenting 'voice' will share their journey as a parent under different circumstances, including raising disabled children and a child with autism, living off-grid with kids, going public with PND, going through IVF as an Anglo-Indian woman and being a single parent.
We've also added fresh boards to our Netmums forum, designed to create safe spaces for every UK parent to chat about anything and everything they’re thinking, feeling and experiencing.
'To be a family in the UK today isn’t a universal experience,' said Annie.
'The make-up and mindset of every family is unique, and Netmums is committed to providing a platform for those parents to share their individual stories and chat to one another in a safe and supportive environment.'
She continued:
'Netmums has always been the online parenting community where everyone is welcome and no problem ever too small – the insight we’ve gathered over the past six months and the changes we’re making to the site in light of that, prove our commitment to always being on the side of families.
'We celebrate diversity in all other walks of life – families are no different. And we want every single one of those diverse families to make Netmums their online home.'
Does your partner do their fair share of housework and childcare? Tell us in the chat thread, below.
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