All’s Fair in Love and Laundry

Here’s a question. How do you and your spouse divide your household tasks? If you’re a cisgender woman in a heterosexual relationship, you might already be groaning. Yes, for women, and especially mothers, it probably feels like the cards and the laundry are stacked against us, and you’re not wrong. According to a 2021 Pew Research study, nearly 60% of women say they do more household chores than their spouse, while just 6% say their spouse or partner does more. If you ask the husbands, 46% say the responsibilities are shared about equally, while 20% say they do more and 34% say their spouse does more. Isn’t that ironic? 

In another study, this time by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women in the United States spend 37 percent more time on unpaid household and care work than men on an average day. Just google any term similar to “gender balance household chores” or “women unpaid labor” and you’ll find plenty of data points to show that women do twice as much of the work in the home that men do, even while working full time jobs. The big question for me is why and more importantly, what the heck can we do about it?

Our guest today is Lauren Tetenbaum, a Westchester, New York-based advocate and therapist certified in perinatal mental health who specializes in life transitions affecting millennial women. With an approach grounded in empathy and emotional intelligence, Lauren counsels clients on romantic relationships, career choices, pregnancy and parenting, anxiety, and family dynamics. She is a devoted mom of two and passionate about building connections and giving back to her community.