Traditional Gender Roles 'hurt Both Men And Women'

A survey of working women suggests their need to adhere to stereotypical gender roles in the household remains a major source of stress, with 30 percent taking prescribed medication due to the pressure.

YWCA polled more than 800 people between July and September last year, about 460 working women who also cared for family members at home and around 350 men whose partners took up these dual roles.

The respondents were asked how they would like to divide the housework between themselves and their partners, and what exactly was the division of labour in reality.

When it came to cooking, nearly half of the male respondents said they expected to split the duty evenly with partners. But only 18 percent of men interviewed said this actually happened.

Around 70 percent of female respondents said they ended up doing most of the work in helping kids with homework and arranging their extracurricular activities.

The survey also showed over 80 percent of female respondents felt mentally exhausted because they were worried about how to take care of their families.

Fiona Yuen, a social worker from YWCA, says it's time for things to change – for the good of everyone.

"The traditional differentiation of what men and women should do in the flat, in the home, is still quite fixed," she said. "Women are not the only ones feeling stressful, men are also feeling stressful because they have to do the big task, for example earning money and making decisions for the family."

Yuen also said to break gender stereotypes and improve gender equality, there should be more community education and family-friendly policies, as well as better communication between men and women.