Fathers take on more, but mothers still bear heavier domestic workload

Government figures released Monday show that married working mothers in dual-income households spent four hours a day on housework and caregiving in 2024, while fathers spent two hours and 17 minutes. Women’s total work time, including paid and domestic work, exceeded men’s by 43 minutes, although the domestic-work gap narrowed from 2014. The imbalance was largest in single-income households with children.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics compared time-use surveys from 2014 and 2024 among adults aged 25 to 39 by marital status and household composition.

In dual-income households with children, men worked an average of five hours and 20 minutes daily, compared with four hours and 20 minutes for women.

Women in dual-income households with children had two hours and 38 minutes of leisure time per day, while men had three hours and 15 minutes.

Fathers in dual-income households increased their daily housework and caregiving time from one hour and 14 minutes in 2014 to two hours and 17 minutes in 2024.

In single-income households with children, women spent seven hours and 28 minutes per day on domestic responsibilities, five hours and 17 minutes more than men.

Published Oct 19, 2026 2:32 pm KST

For a 33-year-old bank employee surnamed Jung raising a 3-year-old son in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, coming home from work feels like starting a second shift.

She uses a reduced working hours program for parents to leave work an hour or two early. Once her mother-in-law, who looks after the child while the couple are at work, heads home, Jung handles child care alone until her husband returns.

“As soon as I get home, I feed my son dinner, bathe him and play with him. By then, my husband is home,” she said. “While he plays with our son, I finally get to shower, wash the dishes and tidy up. Then it’s time to put our son to bed.”

Jung gets her first chance to sit down on the sofa after her son falls asleep, past 10 p.m.

“Even though I leave work early, it feels like I work overtime every day,” she said. “My husband does quite a lot of child care, but our son tends to seek me out more, and I feel that a larger share of the housework naturally falls to me.”

Government figures released Monday show that an uneven division of domestic duties persists among young working parents, despite fathers taking on more over the past decade.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics compared the daily routines of adults aged 25 to 39 using its 2014 and 2024 time-use surveys, examining differences by marital status and whether they lived with children under 18.

Among married parents in dual-income households, women spent four hours a day on housework and caregiving in 2024, compared with two hours and 17 minutes for men — a difference of one hour and 43 minutes.

Men spent longer working, averaging five hours and 20 minutes a day compared with women’s four hours and 20 minutes. Including housework and caregiving, however, women’s total reached eight hours and 20 minutes, exceeding men by 43 minutes.

Women also had less leisure time, at two hours and 38 minutes a day, compared with three hours and 15 minutes for men.

The imbalance has eased since 2014. Fathers in dual-income households increased their daily housework and caregiving time from one hour and 14 minutes to two hours and 17 minutes. Mothers’ time declined from four hours and 30 minutes to four hours.

That brought the gender gap down over the decade, from three hours and 16 minutes to one hour and 43 minutes.

Across married parents as a whole, including those in both single- and dual-income households, men spent five hours and 29 minutes working and two hours and 14 minutes on domestic duties. Women devoted five hours and 45 minutes to housework and caregiving, while spending two hours and 14 minutes working.

The division was particularly pronounced in single-income households with children. Women spent seven hours and 28 minutes on domestic responsibilities, five hours and 17 minutes more than men.

A smaller gap also existed among dual-income married adults without children under 18 at home. Women spent one hour and 39 minutes on housework and caregiving, compared with one hour and five minutes for men.

“We will continue to closely track changes in how people use their time and provide basic data to inform policies supporting work-family balance and improving quality of life,” Data Minister Ahn Hyung-jun said.

Working mothers on rise amid growing financial strain on households

周一公布的政府数据显示，到2024年，双职工家庭中已婚职业母亲平均每天花费4小时做家务和照顾孩子，而父亲则花费2小时17分钟。女性的总工作时间（包括有偿工作和家务劳动）比男性多出43分钟，尽管家务劳动时间的差距较2014年有所缩小。这种不平衡在有子女的单收入家庭中最为显著。

数据统计部对 2014 年和 2024 年 25 至 39 岁成年人的时间利用调查结果进行了比较，比较对象包括不同婚姻状况和家庭组成的人群。

在有孩子的双职工家庭中，男性平均每天工作 5 小时 20 分钟，而女性平均每天工作 4 小时 20 分钟。

双职工家庭中有子女的女性每天有 2 小时 38 分钟的休闲时间，而男性则有 3 小时 15 分钟的休闲时间。

双职工家庭的父亲们每天做家务和照顾孩子的时间从 2014 年的 1 小时 14 分钟增加到 2024 年的 2 小时 17 分钟。

在有孩子的单收入家庭中，女性每天花在家庭事务上的时间是 7 小时 28 分钟，比男性多 5 小时 17 分钟。

发布于2026年10月19日下午2:32（韩国标准时间）

对于一位住在首尔永登浦区、姓郑的33岁银行职员来说，下班回家就像开始了第二班工作。她有一个3岁的儿子。

她利用一项允许父母缩短工作时间的计划，提前一两个小时下班。在她丈夫上班期间负责照顾孩子的婆婆下班回家后，郑女士就独自一人照顾孩子，直到丈夫回来。

“我一到家就给儿子喂晚饭，给他洗澡，陪他玩。这时，我丈夫也到家了，”她说。“他陪儿子玩的时候，我终于可以洗澡、洗碗、收拾一下。然后就该哄儿子睡觉了。”

晚上十点多，儿子睡着后，郑女士才第一次有机会坐在沙发上。

“虽然我每天早早下班，但感觉每天都像在加班，”她说。“我丈夫承担了很多照顾孩子的工作，但儿子更喜欢和我待在一起，所以我感觉家务活自然而然地就落到了我头上。”

周一公布的政府数据显示，尽管过去十年父亲承担了更多家务，但年轻职业父母之间家务分工不均的现象依然存在。

数据统计部利用其 2014 年和 2024 年的时间利用调查，对 25 至 39 岁成年人的日常生活作息进行了比较，并考察了婚姻状况以及是否与 18 岁以下儿童同住等方面的差异。

在双职工家庭的已婚父母中，2024 年女性每天花 4 小时做家务和照顾孩子，而男性则花 2 小时 17 分钟——相差 1 小时 43 分钟。

男性工作时间更长，平均每天工作 5 小时 20 分钟，而女性平均每天工作 4 小时 20 分钟。但如果将家务和照顾家人的时间也算进去，女性的总工作时间达到 8 小时 20 分钟，比男性多出 43 分钟。

与男性每天 3 小时 15 分钟的休闲时间相比，女性的休闲时间也较少，每天只有 2 小时 38 分钟。

自2014年以来，这种不平衡状况有所缓解。双职工家庭中父亲的每日家务和照护时间从1小时14分钟增加到2小时17分钟，而母亲的时间则从4小时30分钟减少到4小时。

这使得性别差距在十年内缩小，从 3 小时 16 分钟缩小到 1 小时 43 分钟。

在所有已婚父母中（包括单收入家庭和双收入家庭），男性平均工作时间为5小时29分钟，家务时间为2小时14分钟。女性平均家务和照护时间为5小时45分钟，工作时间为2小时14分钟。

这种分工在有孩子的单收入家庭中尤为明显。女性平均花费7小时28分钟做家务，比男性多5小时17分钟。

在没有18岁以下子女的双职工已婚成年人中，男女收入差距也较小。女性在家做家务和照顾孩子上花费1小时39分钟，而男性则为1小时5分钟。

“我们将继续密切关注人们时间利用方式的变化，并提供基础数据，以制定支持工作与家庭平衡和提高生活质量的政策，”数据部长安亨俊表示。

随着家庭经济压力日益增大，职业母亲人数不断增加。