The Great Divide HOW DO YOU MEASURE UP? So, how does your household measure up to the national average when it comes to how household chores are shared? According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2004 Time Use Survey, women still outrank men in the amount of time spent on daily household chores. The survey, which tracked the average hours 14,000 Americans reported spending in various activities, found that on an average day in 2004, 84 percent of women and 63 percent of men spent some time doing household activities, such as housework, cooking, lawn care or financial and other household management. Women who reported doing household activities on the diary spent 2.7 hours on such activities, while men spent 2.1 hours. Nineteen percent of men reported doing housework — such as cleaning or doing laundry — compared with 54 percent of women. Thirty-five percent of men did food preparation or cleanup, vs. 66 percent of women. For men and women, and overall, the amount of time spent doing household activities did not vary greatly by the presence or age of household children.