After decades of feminism, housework is STILL a woman's job with just one in 10 men doing more than their partner

By Eleanor Harding for the Daily Mail

Published: 14:18 EST, 11 March 2012 | Updated: 04:20 EST, 12 March 2012

Women have long suspected they still do more of the housework than their husbands.

And the next time there’s a row over the chores, they’ll have proof.

Eight out of ten married women do more housework than their partners, according to figures compiled by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Much the same: After 40 years of feminism, a survey shows just one in 10 husbands do more housework than their wives

The think tank found only one in ten married men do the same amount as their wives. Around the same proportion do more.

Only 3 per cent of married women spend fewer than three hours a week on housework, with almost half doing 13 hours or more.

Researchers found housework patterns have changed only slightly across the generations.

More than eight out of ten women born in 1958 said they do more laundry and ironing than their partner, and seven out of ten women born in 1970 agreed.

Rare sight: In the modern home, just one in 10 men does his share of the housework, according to the research

British Prime Minister David Cameron said a proposed tax break for domestic help was 'interesting'

Experts say the gender imbalance is still alive in the British household and are calling for men to do their fair share. Nick Pearce, director of IPPR, said: ‘The revolution in gender roles is unfinished business.

‘Women still shoulder the overwhelming burden of household tasks, particularly after they have had children.

‘When they earn more, their bargaining power with their partners increases, so closing the gender pay gap would help.’

The IPPR called for men to work more flexibly and take greater responsibility for caring for their children and their homes.

A straw poll on parenting website Netmums found that women felt obliged to do the housework if their partner was the main breadwinner.

Siobhan Freegard, of Netmums, said: ‘Whenever we ask women about the most stressful thing in their lives, housework is at the top.

‘Nobody lies on their deathbed thinking, “I wish I’d kept up with the housework”, but it is a serious issue dividing couples and we have to ask why it comes back time and again.’

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