City women may equally rule the roost in boardrooms, call the shots for company-wide campaigns, wear the pants, be Chief Ministers, and take decisions in meetings. But, their husbands still feel women have to do the household chores all by themselves.
At a time when feminism is gaining good stead world over, according to a Neilsen survey conducted recently in five Indian metros — Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore — men have fared badly in their perception of what their wives should do. A whopping 96% of the men surveyed in Chennai alone felt that washing of clothes is a woman’s job. Whether it is loading the machine or manual washing, men want their women to wash their dirty linen.
Sowmya P., an IT employee with 10 years of working experience, says loading the machine or washing the dishes is her duty at home, however late she may get back from work.
“I work the same hours as my husband, but it is just assumed the household chores are my duties,” she says.
Of the 1,250 respondents, comprising 500 women and 750 women, more than two-thirds of the women surveyed believed there was inequality at home, and their husbands did not help with household chores.
Moreover, 82% of working Indian women feel equality is evolving outside homes, but inequality thrives within, according to the survey done in November last.
Eighty per cent of the women surveyed in Chennai believed their husbands prioritise relaxing over giving a helping hand with household chores.
The survey was released in the city on Wednesday, in association with Ariel, by actor Amala Paul, who said, “Education will not change mindsets. It is respect for the women that will.”
Neilsen survey reveals a large percentage of men consider household chores to be women’s responsibility
