Four key ways to promote equity in household tasks
How giving boys and girls equal responsibilities and opportunities is key to their development
- Español
- English
👉 Follow us on WhatsApp Channels: UNICEF Parenting Hub to get daily tips.
You might also be interested in: Parenting | Food and nutrition | Early learning | Health | Security and protection | Short masterclasses for parents and caregivers
Cooking, cleaning, sweeping, and taking care of younger children or older people...these chores and responsibilities in and outside the home can take up a lot of time each day. In many households, young and adolescent girls bear disproportionate responsibility for these tasks.
This is because it is often seen as 'natural' for girls to serve food, clear the table, clean the house, and do the laundry and other chores. It creates a silent obstacle, putting opportunities for girls to develop themselves and fully exercise their rights out of reach.
Housework and caregiving are not bad things. They help all members of the family to contribute and live well. The problem arises when mainly girls bear the burden, and they are given a larger share of tasks than boys, who have more time to rest, study or play.
The importance of time
In reality, girls spend more time than boys doing unpaid domestic and care work, including from a very young age.
On average, in Latin America and the Caribbean, girls spend one hour more each day than boys on care tasks in the home. This means that girls have seven hours less a week to study and do homework, join in games or recreational activities that support their development, or think about their own future and goals.
This inequality limits their opportunities, now and in the future.
What can mothers and fathers do?
Often, these practices result from the way mothers and fathers have grown up and experienced the world. Although they are very common, they can be changed. What can you do at home?
1. Divide tasks
At home, male and female children should help out equally with tasks that are appropriate for their age. They should learn that tasks are meant to be shared, keeping in mind that only adults are responsible for some tasks, while boys and girls can help out with others. Ask yourself: Are you asking your daughters to do more housework and caregiving than your sons? If the answer is "yes", now is the time to reflect and make a change.
2. Lead by example
Like all people, children mainly learn by example. If all adults at home, regardless of whether they are men or women, share tasks such as cooking, cleaning or caring equally, girls and boys learn that these responsibilities should be divided between everyone, and not only done by women and girls.
3. Protect free time
For boys and girls, time spent playing, studying and spending time with friends is not trivial. These activities are essential for children's development, enabling them to gain skills that will be key throughout their lives.
4. Talk together as a family
Establishing an open and honest dialogue about how tasks are divided at home can be a great help in identifying unequal burdens that go unnoticed. Give all family members the same chance to be heard so that you can make fairer decisions.
Equality starts today
Equally dividing the time your daughters and sons have to help at home as well as to learn, grow, play and dream is a very powerful way to support their development.
An equal future for them starts today. It starts at home. And you have the power to make a difference.
From a young age, boys and girls learn at home what is expected of them. If tasks are assigned to them unequally based on their gender, children can grow up believing this is normal and replicate it when they are in school, or later in work or when they are adults.
You have the power to change that. As a parent or caregiver, you can promote child-rearing that is equitable, and that benefits your sons and daughters equally. Your role is key: you can teach them to recognize inequalities and decide whether to replicate them...or change them.
