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    Count the time cost as unpaid work, and agree on the division of labor before you register

    • High value
    • Evidence A
    • Saves time
    • Free
    • Takes some hours
    • Some willpower

    In plain words

    The national time-use survey counted unpaid work such as housework and caring for and keeping company with family members. Among those who did it that day, men averaged 1 hour 52 minutes a day and women 3 hours 29 minutes. The survey did not group people by whether they were married, so there is no official figure for "how much more housework comes with marriage," and this gender gap can only serve as an upper-bound reference. The division of labor can be worked out differently before you register.

    Cost

    Free. Before marriage, spend an hour or two turning the unpaid work, such as housework, caring for children and older people, and whose job gives way, into a clear division of labor, and then follow it. The hard part is putting it on the table and not putting off the talk.

    What you get

    The 2024 national time-use survey. Unpaid work means housework and caring for and keeping company with family members, work that is not paid. Among those who did this work that day, the average was 2 hours 45 minutes a day, of which men 1 hour 52 minutes and women 3 hours 29 minutes. The share of people who did this work at all on a given day was 67.5% for men and 83.9% for women. Residents' housework averaged 1 hour 17 minutes a day, or 1 hour 59 minutes counting only those who did it, 28 minutes less than in 2018. Caring for and keeping company with family members averaged 30 minutes a day, or 1 hour 46 minutes counting only those who did it. The 2018 figures were: housework 45 minutes for men and 2 hours 6 minutes for women, and caring for and keeping company with children 17 minutes for men and 53 minutes for women

    Notes

    Both surveys were grouped only by sex, urban or rural, and age, not by whether people were married. So there is no official figure for "how much more housework comes after marriage," and the gender gap can only serve as an upper-bound reference. The figures are national averages, and the two of you can perfectly well agree on a different division of labor

    Evidence grade
    A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.
    Sources
    1. National Bureau of Statistics (2024). Bulletin of the Third National Time Use Survey [in Chinese] (No. 2 and No. 3). https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202410/t20241031_1957216.html, https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202410/t20241031_1957215.html
    2. National Bureau of Statistics (2019). Bulletin of the 2018 National Time Use Survey [in Chinese]. https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202302/t20230203_1900224.html

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    Mentioned in

    Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 10, tip 9. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer