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WHAT do women get out of marriage? Not as much as men, according to a report published today by the Royal Economic Society. It reveals gender equality in the workplace has still not been matched by fair treatment at home.
The study, based on the British Household Panel survey, concluded that women get only 40 per cent of the overall wellbeing of marital union - the "marriage dividend" - rather than an equal half-share.
After marriage, women's household chores increase by five hours a week, while men's fall by two hours, the survey found.
The downside of married life for wives affects everything from leisure time to their career - raising the question of whether it is in their best interest to get married at all.
The results - which are likely to surprise men more than women - come after another survey found marriage typically extended the lifespan of men while shortening that of women.
"This is not just about whose turn it is to clean the loo," said a spokesman for the RES. "It has much more serious implications for women who are trying to balance a career with raising children and also might affect the personal economic status of a woman in the event of a divorce."
However, while women may feel they take on more than their fair share, it seems many are not aware just how much of a raw deal they are getting. The RES spokesman said the findings suggested that, even in cases where they think household duties are balanced, women actually get 10 per cent less than an equal half share of marriage benefits.
Most women, he said, included some of the time they spent with their children as leisure time, whereas men were more inclined to describe it as a task.
And more time looking after the home means less time for personal and professional development, which can affect a woman's more general wellbeing, studies show.
"Women have made some progress in breaking through the glass ceiling, but this is a reminder that there are still barriers at home when it comes to sharing domestic responsibilities," said Christine Northam, a counsellor with Relate. "And the lack of fairness at home will hold back women when it comes to progress in the workplace.
"These issues can often foster longer-term resentment between couples and can cause wider marital problems, so it is more important than a case of just getting husbands to pick up after themselves a bit more."
She added that it was "very noticeable" that women still accounted for only a small number of FTSE 100 company directors and an even smaller proportion of MPs. "It is estimated it will take another 20 years before there is an equal balance of men and women in the House of Commons, which shows the speed of progress is not what some people think it is."
The economic study, by Hélène Couprie at the University of Toulouse, found that married women typically spend 14.6 hours a week on domestic housework compared with 11.3 when single, even though the average number of hours spent at work dips only from 33.8 to 32.4.
It concluded that "time spent in housework only partially includes time spent with children, because part of the time spent with children is declared as leisure by women".
For men, it spells the end to claiming half a share of the domestic chores while in reality doing much less.
An earlier report, Marriage and Divorce's Impact on Wealth, published in the Journal of Sociology, claimed divorced people see their overall net worth drop by an average of 77 per cent, which implies both men and women are better off together than they are alone.
And countless other studies have associated wedlock with better "outcomes" for children and happier lifestyles for adult men and women. In other words, a good marriage is associated with a higher income, a longer, healthier life and better-adjusted children. Plenty of couples have resisted walking up the aisle. Today, one in six couples is living together outside marriage - about four million people - with many women believing in the concept of "common-law wife" when it comes to rights in the event of a separation.
"The whole of marriage is greater than the sum of the parts," said Elaine Douglas, a chartered psychologist and an expert in family relationships. "Women have an inbuilt desire to provide care and nurture, which may explain why they are more likely to carry out more tasks at home even if they say they shouldn't have to.
"Having a high-profile career does not take the place of a family role and making a simple economic swap between labour at work and labour at home won't necessarily make a woman feel complete. Women are often the glue that holds a family unit together, and that is not a task which cannot be split or handed out to other people - it is a unique role for women in the home."
Northam adds: "The secret to avoiding longer-term marital problems is for women to make their feelings known. It is the responsibility of men in a marriage to ensure they are being fair and equitable, but it is also incumbent upon women to speak up and not let the problem fester, which is what often happens."
But not all women are in determined pursuit of an exact split in domestic responsibilities. "I know plenty of women who are happy to take on a lot of the housework, not because they are some kind of doormat, but because that is what they want," says Douglas.
"The trick is to ensure that couples come to an arrangement they both find acceptable. Making lists and nitpicking will make matters worse, and it is often the case that a spouse will do something in the background that isn't visible. For example, a husband might arrange for the children to have some time outdoors. It is not something that a wife sees happening, but it will be of a benefit to her and the family further down the line.
"Unless couples come to an understanding over domestic tasks, the marriage will always be strained."
Researchers from the University of California found that men who never marry are more vulnerable to an early death than women who remain single throughout their lives. Bachelors aged between 19 and 44 are more than twice as likely to die than their married male peers of the same age.
Unsurprisingly, old age and poor health were the main causes of death. But a surviving marriage was strongly associated with a longer life.
COUPLE AGREE TO DISAGREE ON WHAT CONSTITUTES EQUALITY
JAMIE Macnab and his wife, Jane, are typical of the professional couples whose marriage involves the complications of sharing household tasks.
Dr Jane Macnab, who has a demanding role as a consultant gynaecologist, and Mr Macnab, a director at the property firm Savills, split the responsibilities of looking after their children, Daisy, seven, and James, six.
He sheepishly agreed that despite their aim for equality, they found it difficult to agree on whether household responsibilities were divided fairly. "She has an entirely different perspective on what constitutes a fair share, even if I were to claim we had an equal partnership in terms of domestic responsibilities," he said. "A lot of the differences are down to attitudes which are different between men and women. For example, there is not an equal share when it comes to anxiety about children.
"Women are under pressure to have the nicest house, the best-behaved and best-educated children and the prettiest clothes, and this pressure is even worse for women who have a high-profile career because their peers are often taking a career break or are stay-at-home mothers, who have more time to spend on these things in the first place."
Mr Macnab added: "It seems that equality in the workplace for women has little to do with equality in the home, despite the best efforts of couples."
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