Our Blogs

Women are more likely to initiate a divorce if their husbands do not help with household chores according to a recent study. The research, which was undertaken by the University of Stanford’s department of sociology, analysed figures taken from a survey concerning 2,262 heterosexual couples aged between 19 and 64 who stated that they were in a relationship when the study commenced. By the time that researchers began to collate their findings, 371 participants had either broken up with or divorced their partner. Of the couples that divorced, woman initiated the breakup 69 per cent of the time with the most common reason as to why being that they felt that their husbands did not provide them with sufficient help with housework and childcare. In comparison, however, neither party was more likely to initiate separation if the couple were cohabiting, irrespective of how the housework was divided. Researchers also found that married couples were generally happier with their relationships, though, on average, women were less likely to be satisfied than men whilst the opposite was true when the couple where not married. In an attempt to explain these findings the study’s lead researcher, Professor Michael Rosenfield, posited that the institution of marriage has not yet caught up with gender equality leading men to believe that their wives should fulfil traditional gender roles. He further argues that this is not true of non-marital relationships.