Even when both parents work, moms do more chores while dads get more leisure time

Working women with children spent an average of 1 hour and 43 minutes more per day on housework and caregiving than men, although the gender gap has nearly halved over the past decade as men have taken on more domestic responsibilities.

In 2024, married women aged 25 to 39 with children spent an average of 5 hours and 45 minutes per day on housework and caregiving, 3 hours and 31 minutes more than men, who spent 2 hours and 14 minutes, according to a report released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Monday. The report examines how marriage and parenthood affect the daily time use of young adults.

Men, however, spent 5 hours and 29 minutes working, compared to 2 hours and 14 minutes for women — a difference of 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Even in dual income households, women continued to shoulder a disproportionate share of domestic responsibilities.

Working women with children spent an average of 4 hours a day on housework and caregiving, about 1.8 times the 2 hours and 17 minutes spent by men. Men spent an average of 5 hours and 20 minutes on paid work, one hour more than women, who worked 4 hours and 20 minutes. 

When paid work and unpaid domestic labor were combined, women spent a total of 8 hours and 20 minutes a day working, 43 minutes more than men, who spent 7 hours and 37 minutes. 

Due to their longer combined workload, women had less leisure time. Men enjoyed an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes of leisure per day, compared to 2 hours and 38 minutes for women — a gap of 37 minutes.

The figures show that even when both parents work, women spend more time on household chores and caregiving while having less time for themselves.

The gender gap has nevertheless narrowed over the past decade as men have increased their participation in housework and caregiving.

Among dual income couples with children, the difference in time spent on domestic responsibilities fell from 3 hours and 16 minutes in 2014 to 1 hour and 43 minutes in 2024, nearly halving over the 10-year period. 

The gap also narrowed in single-income households.

Women with children in single-income households spent an average of 7 hours and 28 minutes per day on housework and caregiving, 5 hours and 17 minutes more than men, who spent 2 hours and 11 minutes. That difference was 1 hour and 8 minutes smaller than the 6-hour-and-25-minute gap recorded a decade earlier.

The report also highlighted substantial differences in how young adults spend their days depending on whether they have children.

Married young adults with children spent an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes a day on housework and caregiving, 3 hours and 23 minutes more than unmarried young adults, who spent just 52 minutes.

However, married young adults with children spent 49 minutes less on paid work and 1 hour and 29 minutes less on leisure activities than their unmarried counterparts.

Unmarried young adults enjoyed an average of 4 hours and 42 minutes of leisure per day, while married young adults with children had just 3 hours and 13 minutes.

“This analysis provides a detailed picture of how young adults' daily time use differs depending on their marital status and whether they have children,” said Ahn Hyung-jun, minister of Data and Statistics.

“We will continue to closely track changes in how people spend their time through the time use survey and provide essential data to help develop policies that support work-life balance and improve people's quality of life.”

BY AHN HYO-SEONG [[email protected]]