Survey Shows That Housework, in Brazil, Is a Woman's Job

12/08/2017 - 12h22

Women are usually responsible for personal care and for assisting their children with educational activities. Men, on the other hand, usually monitor and engage in activities such as reading and playing with children – however, not as much as women.

This is the conclusion of the first survey on unpaid work of Pnad Contínua, conducted by IBGE (Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute), with data from 2016.

According to the survey, 26.9% of the population aged 14 or more in the country is responsible for the care of a family member – children, elderly, sick or disabled relatives.

However, there is a substantial difference related to gender: women (32.4%) are usually more involved in such activities than men (21%).

Considering the percentage of people who assist with personal care, women are also far more involved than men.

Only 65% of men engage in such activities, against 86.9% of women. Concerning educational activities, women account for 71.1%, whereas men account for 58.8%.

Leisure activities, such as reading and playing, show a slight difference between genders: women account for 74%, and men for 72.1%.

Women exceeded men in all items assessed.

Men responsible for monitoring or spending time together at home represented 84.2% of the population who provide any type of care; women represented 88,6%.

Women are also more frequently responsible to taking their children to school, doctor or to the park, –70.8% compared to 66.9% of men.

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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