A Feminist view of housework

They reject this view and argue that little has changed: men and women  remain unequal within the family and women still do most of the housework. They see this inequality as stemming from the fact that the family and society are male-dominated or patriarchal. Women occupy a subordinate and dependent role within the family and in wider society.

Ann Oakley (1974) criticises Young and Wilmott's view that family is now symmetrical. She argues that their claims are exaggerated. Although Young and Wilmott found that most of the husbands they interviewed "helped," their wives at least once a week, this could include simply taking the children for a walk or making breakfast on one occasion. For Oakley, this is hardly convincing evidence of symmetry.

Mary Boulton (1983) found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare.