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Working men are taking on a larger share of the responsibilities for child care and household chores, according to a recent survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates. Although women who work still contribute more time and energy to home-related tasks than working men do, the gap between men and women appears to be narrowing. In 1977, for example, working men reported spending 1.2 hours a day on household chores during the week, while working women reportedly spent 3.3 hours a day. By 1997 working men reported spending 2.1 hours a day, while working women reported spending 2.8 hours a day on household chores.
Compared with survey results from 20 years ago, both men and women
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report spending less time on personal activities and more time working. Employees are working 3.5 more hours a week than they did 20 years ago, and many now hold more than one job.
Despite the increase in women’s participation in the labor force, parents today spend more time with their children than parents 20 years ago did, largely because fathers are taking a more active role in child rearing. Despite the increase, however, 70 percent of working men and women report spending less time than they would like to with their children.
Part of the reason working parents have too little time is that many are
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taking care of aging parents: one out of every four people surveyed reported providing care to an elderly family member during the previous year. Men and women reported devoting equal amounts of time to elder care.
- How have the household roles of men changed over the the past 20 years?Answer
- According to the Harris survey, how has the amount of time parents now spend with their children changed since 1977?Answer
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