Survey Reveals Men In UP Spend Just 11 Minutes On Household Work, Highlights Gender Gap

Lucknow: A recent survey has revealed the limited role men play in household chores in Uttar Pradesh. On average, men spend just 11 minutes per day on domestic work. The survey also identified cities in the state where men contribute more to household tasks, with Gorakhpur and Noida showing higher involvement.

The findings come from the Selfie With Daughter Foundation, which conducted a nationwide survey over five and a half years. The study, named ‘Grih Saathi Karya,’ included responses from 13,400 men and women across Uttar Pradesh and other states. The survey explored men’s daily routines, participation in household chores, meal preparation skills, and whether they plan or coordinate household responsibilities with family members.

Founder of the Selfie With Daughter Foundation, Professor Sunil Jaglan, pointed out that many men do not assist during women’s menstrual periods and often fail to understand the pain and discomfort women face.

“My aim was to bring the ground level scenario as how gender parity exists in household work,” he told this reporter on telephone.

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The survey highlights that women feel men treat household work as a duty only for women, while men remain focused on external work. Working women from Noida reported managing both office responsibilities and household chores on their own. In households where couples were asked, men often admitted they had never considered participating in household tasks, saying they had neither observed nor been taught such responsibilities.

The survey found a lack of communication among men regarding household work, reinforcing the need for programs like ‘Grih Saathi Karya.’ Jaglan has proposed incorporating this program as a value addition course under the National Education Policy 2020. The initiative aims to reduce the domestic burden on women and bring better balance and happiness to their lives.

Over the five-and-a-half-year survey, men aged 14 to 70 participated. The study used both online and offline methods, including approximately 4,000 participants online and 70,000 offline. Around 2,500 women and girls also contributed to understanding men’s engagement in household chores.

The study highlighted that men in Gorakhpur spend the most time assisting with domestic tasks, followed by men in Noida. In some cities, men contribute as little as seven minutes per day to household work. Professor Jaglan, who also heads the ‘Gali Bandh Ghar’ campaign, said the ‘Grih Saathi Karya’ initiative will use posters and awareness programs to encourage men to take small but meaningful steps in domestic work, such as making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, organizing clothes, helping children get ready for school, and assisting in the kitchen.

Data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Time Use Survey 2024 corroborates these findings. Women spend an average of 289 minutes on household work daily, while men spend only 88 minutes. In unpaid family care work, women devote 137 minutes daily compared to 75 minutes by men. Women aged 15 to 59 carry the largest share of these responsibilities. According to MoSPI, these statistics confirm the entrenched social pattern in India, where women shoulder most domestic responsibilities.

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The Supreme Court has also recognized the value of unpaid household work. In a recent hearing, Justices Suryakant and K.V. Vishwanathan ruled that the work of homemakers should be considered equivalent to receiving a salary, emphasizing that the contribution of women in managing families cannot be measured in monetary terms.

The survey underlines the persistent gender gap in domestic responsibilities and highlight the urgent need for programs that encourage equitable participation by men in household chores.