Women spend an average of three times more time doing routine household chores than their male partners do, and are spending more time doing so, a recent study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) found.
Last year, females aged 15 to 64 spent an average of 4.41 hours doing uncompensated household work, compared with an average of 3.81 hours per day in 2016, the study found.
Some females surveyed by the ministry do as much as 3.18 hours more housework per day than the average woman in the nation, it showed.
Meanwhile, males living in the same household as the females surveyed did an average of 1.48 hours per day of housework, it found.
The uncompensated work done by women included regular housework (laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc), and caring for underage children and elderly family members, it showed.
On regular housework alone, the average woman spent an average of 2.22 hours per day last year, compared with the 0.73 hours their partners spent on it, the study found.
Chen Jau-hwa (陳瑤華), a professor at Soochow University who studies human rights, said that women are doing more at home than men, despite the modern conveniences brought by improvements in technology.
It is a “structural problem,” Chen said.
“The prevailing attitude in Taiwanese society is still that women should do housework,” she said.
Even though the government had tried to reduce the burden of daycare and elderly care on families through policies and programs, female employees of daycare center and nursing homes outnumber their male counterparts ninefold, the professor said.
“This means that what was considered ‘women’s work’ in the home is now offloaded to women elsewhere,” she said.
The situation represents a serious structural imbalance that would require a change in the overall mindset of society to overcome, she said.
“When men are willing to put more time into housework and watching children, it improves the quality of their marriages,” said Ho Pi-chen (何碧珍), executive director of ECPAT Taiwan, which is part of the worldwide ECPAT network of organizations working to end the sexual exploitation of children
Women would also be more willing to marry if the social tendency was for men to invest more energy into household duties, Ho said.
One woman surnamed Chang (張) said that due to her husband’s work schedule, she took care of all of the household duties, even though she also had a job, which meant she had to sleep less to get the housework done.
She said she hoped her husband would at least take care of his own things, which would reduce the burden on her.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS