Male? High-earner? You're probably not pulling your weight at home

High-earning men are less likely to help their partners with household chores than their lower-paid counterparts, a study has found.

Experts at the University of Warwick’s Institute of Employment Research believe a “class divide” is emerging, which shapes men’s willingness to muck in with cleaning and other housework.

Published in the latest edition of the British Sociological Association’s Work Employment & Society journal, the study found women are still doing the most around the home by far, irrespective of how much they are paid.

Commenting on the findings, the study’s leader Dr Clare Lyonette said:

There’s a stark difference in couples’ attitudes towards gender equality depending on how much they are earning.

It seems men on lower incomes are happily picking up the dusters, filling the dishwasher and generally starting to do their bit.

But there’s a different attitude when it comes to higher earners. We found that while men in these households do also recognise the need to help their partners, they remain reluctant to lift a finger and appear to simply throw money at the issue by hiring a cleaner instead.

Dr Lyonette interviewed a number of partnered men and women for the project, all of whom had at least one child under the age of 14. As well as assessing attitudes to housework, the study also examined the “myth of male incompetence” in performing household tasks to an acceptable standard.

More: Where in the world do men do the most housework?