The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

My husband and I are equal partners. Why does he get so much more credit for parenting?

These gender biases are built into our culture

Perspective by
Lily contributor
November 11, 2018 at 9:04 a.m. EST

Now that I’m a member of the “Mom Club,” I hear a lot of women who complain about their husband’s inability to fold laundry, make a bottle, juggle pickups and take on parent-teacher conferences.

Parenthood has largely been viewed as “women’s work,” at the expense of both partners.

My husband and I struggled with division of labor when we had our first child. Here’s what we did.

Society doesn’t make this an easy problem to solve: Studies show that in childhood, girls get the bulk of household chores, and we carry that model into adulthood.

These gender biases are built into our culture, and it’s difficult to push back on, for men and women. A clear example of this recently emerged when my partner returned from bringing our daughter to the doctor.