TikToker Sparks off Debate by Saying Women do far More Household Work as Compared to Men

Although debates have been raging on about participation of women in the workforce as well as gender equality, society has a long way to go before women can break out of traditional gender roles. Although men are lauded for doing their bit when it comes to household chores, the burden of managing a household still pretty much rests on women, who have to handle it in addition to their day job. This debate has created a buzz on social media through TikToker Abby Eckel, who mainly makes content on marriage and motherhood and boasts of over 550k followers on the short video-sharing platform. She asked what would happen if women stopped handling all the cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other household tasks.

According to her, if women did not take the primary responsibility for the household chores, it's highly likely that the chores would not get done, as husbands typically don't take the lead in these matters.

Her video was positively received by women who seemed to agree with her.  However, men on the other hand did not agree and had a lot to say.

How did men react?

One man with the username, @duke1013_ took to the post to write, " What if we stop working, supporting, and paying for everything?" Others also took to the comment section and said similar things. Following this, Eckel decided to make a separate video to address the remarks that were made by these men. 

She said, "Why do men still believe that women don’t work?" 

"Listen and listen close because I'm tired of saying this: 75 percent of women between 25 and 55 work," Abby said into the camera, adding "Working is no longer exclusive to men. It is not 1950," she continued.

She then talked about how women not only work in the daytime but also bear the brunt of domestic chores later in the day. She added that this "happens daily."

"You are trying to compare apples to oranges and then you are trying to say that women don't work," she says. " [You think] that if you stop paying the bills and mortgage then women would just what? You think that women would just be homeless?"

She concluded the video by saying that it's high time one realizes and gets out of their "silly bubble" to understand that women work too. "we're not asking for the sun and the moon," she said. "

"We are asking you to do your fair share of domestic labor around the house," she continued. She also mentioned how the comment that she highlighted that was responding to was the only thing most men had to say under the original video. "This is the number one comment coming from men" 

Then she goes on to read some of the comments on the video, "What if we stopped supporting?" what if we stopped charging the oil in the car?" Eckel continues to explain how, chores like, "cleaning the gutters" "changing the oil," "mowing the lawn" are all sporadic events and not daily chores. She then compares it to the chores that are not sporadic and pretty consistent in daily life, like grocery shopping meal prepping or simply cooking and cleaning. 

Women still doing more household work than men

While it's understandable that a stay-at-home partner could take 100% of the household chores, it's in no way fair that women are still taking the brunt of all the household tasks even after working just like their male partner. Statistics say that working women spend nearly twice as much time as men caring for children and doing other household work. On the other hand, only 20% of full-time employed men do any housework such as cleaning and doing laundry, compared to 49% women with full-time jobs.