Who does the housework: in every suburb, women are likelier than men to put in 15 hours a week
At the 2021 Census, 30.9% of women aged 15 and over did 15 or more hours of unpaid housework a week, against 12.8% of men. The gap narrowed a little from 2016, but in each of the 3,562 suburbs and towns we compared, a larger share of women than men did 15 hours or more. Men did the most in semi-rural towns such as Mapleton and Kurrajong; the gap was widest in Dalkeith, Longueville and Trigg.
The Census asks everyone aged 15 and over how many hours they spent on unpaid domestic work in the week before Census night: cooking, cleaning, washing, gardening, home maintenance and the household's paperwork. Childcare and caring for others are asked separately and are not counted here.
In 2021, 30.9% of women did 15 hours or more, against 12.8% of men. At 30 hours or more the split was 13.9% of women and 4.2% of men.
| Hours a week | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| None | 23.9% | 31.4% |
| Under 5 | 16.1% | 26.6% |
| 5 to 14 | 29.2% | 29.2% |
| 15 to 29 | 16.9% | 8.7% |
| 30 or more | 13.9% | 4.2% |
The gap narrowed from 2016, when 32.7% of women and 11.6% of men did 15 hours or more: from 21.1 percentage points to 18.1.
The gap is everywhere
We compared 3,562 suburbs and towns with at least 1,000 people answering the question, and at least 400 of each sex. In every one, a larger share of women than men did 15 hours or more. The capitals look much alike:
| City | Women, 15+ hours | Men, 15+ hours |
|---|---|---|
| Perth | 30.3% | 11.0% |
| Adelaide | 30.1% | 12.3% |
| Sydney | 29.9% | 12.4% |
| Brisbane | 29.4% | 12.6% |
| Melbourne | 28.7% | 10.9% |
| Hobart | 28.6% | 12.7% |
| Canberra | 27.4% | 12.5% |
| Darwin | 25.5% | 11.2% |
Outside the capitals both did more: 33.5% of women and 14.7% of men.
Where men do the most
The highest shares of men doing 15 hours or more were in semi-rural and coastal towns, where women's shares were higher still:
| Suburb | State | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mapleton | QLD | 29.1% | 43.6% |
| Burrum Heads | QLD | 26.2% | 42.1% |
| Kurrajong | NSW | 25.8% | 44.5% |
| Witta | QLD | 25.6% | 44.7% |
| Black Mountain | QLD | 25.2% | 41.4% |
| Goolwa North | SA | 24.9% | 43.4% |
| Bundeena | NSW | 24.5% | 42.6% |
Where the gap is widest
| Suburb | State | Men | Women | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalkeith | WA | 11.5% | 41.9% | 30.4 |
| Longueville | NSW | 14.2% | 43.3% | 29.1 |
| Haven | VIC | 16.0% | 45.1% | 29.1 |
| Hazelwood North | VIC | 17.5% | 46.5% | 29.0 |
| Little Grove | WA | 13.9% | 42.4% | 28.5 |
| Trigg | WA | 9.8% | 37.9% | 28.1 |
The gap was narrowest in inner-city apartment suburbs, where few people of either sex did long hours: in Melbourne's CBD, 7.1% of men and 12.4% of women did 15 hours or more, and in Sydney's Haymarket, 5.2% and 9.3%.
How we counted
- From the 2021 and 2016 Censuses (ABS, CC BY 4.0): hours of unpaid domestic work in the week before Census night, people aged 15 and over, as a share of those who answered the question.
- Suburb figures are for suburbs with at least 1,000 people answering, and at least 400 men and 400 women. "15 hours or more" adds the Census's 15 to 29 and 30 or more groups.
- "Capitals" are the ABS's urban areas, so Canberra includes Queanbeyan.
- The 2021 Census week fell during lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.
- The Census counts what people report for themselves, in one week. It does not say who in a household does which task.
Every suburb page shows its Census profile.