The answers to the various questions in the Gender Mirror Survey were analysed separately to compare women's answers with men's. When looking at who tidies up at home every day, 75 percent of women say this is their responsibility. 20 percent say they share that household task. Among men, the result is slightly different. Every second man believes that this is a task shared within the household, and 25 percent say they do the tidying.
When asked whether people think housework is fairly distributed, 55 percent of women say "rather no" or "not at all." Among men, that figure is only 28 percent. Perception and reality are still far from aligned, and this runs throughout the entire survey. Manon Meiresonne from OGBL and head of the working group that conducted the survey explains:
"Women are consistent with what they experience. They are the ones who effectively carry out a large share of that invisible work. This can also be verified when you ask them questions about their private lives. Men, on the other hand, answer that the invisible work is more or less equally distributed, but when you then ask them questions about their personal situation, the figures show that they are less involved in household work or spend less time caring for children."
The survey also addressed part-time work, which affects significantly more women than men. Of the employees who took part in the survey, 45 percent of women said they work part-time. Among men, the figure was 12 percent. There are also differences between the genders when looking at why people work part-time.
Milena Steinmetzer, head of OGBL Equality, explains that: "The largest proportion of women indicate that they work part-time because of children. For men, other reasons are more prominent, such as hobbies, new studies or further training. That means investing in oneself, whereas for women it tends to be more of an investment in the next generation."
Part-time work not only entails lower pay now, but it also means a lower pension later, and therefore permanently greater financial dependence on a partner. The survey also identifies a number of avenues for improving the situation, including a reduction in working hours.
