When it comes to the division of domestic duties, traditional gender stereotypes still prevail, a survey has revealed.
Women spend 85 minutes a day carrying out household chores compared to 57 minutes for men, the study found, which adds up to an extra week per year.
Once children enter the equation the gap widens further with women spending 16.5 hours a week looking after the family home compared to the 11.5 hours put in by fathers.
The results serve to reinforce outmoded gender stereotypes with male domestic duties focusing around traditionally male duties such as gardening, cleaning the car and taking out the bins.
The study by Aviva insurance posed the question, "Who does what?" to 2,000 couples.
Although it was revealed that more men are cooking than ever before, they still lag behind women, spending 66 minutes per week slaving over a hot stove, compared to 77 minutes for women.
Louise Colley, head of protection for Aviva, said: "Balancing family life against work pressures is a constant challenge, particularly when children are involved, so it’s important that couples can share the load where possible.
"It’s perhaps inevitable that one person will tend to pick up certain domestic duties, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the other partner is taking on different tasks.
"Life is a constant balancing act, particularly for parents who often have to build their own schedules around other people’s timetables - work, school and childcare for example. It’s then easy to see how individuals can feel stressed as they try to do it all.
"There’s no easy answer, but by communicating and making sure the burden is split as fairly and evenly as possible - both inside and outside the home - this could help to ease the pressure all round."