Lockdown forces more males to engage in household work

COLOMBO (News1st): Males doing household work has gone up during the lockdown style curfew restrictions in Sri Lanka imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a survey has shown. The involvement of males in cleaning their homes had risen by six percent, and cooking by 9.5 percent, according to a study conducted by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA). Nearly four percent of females had taken to house repairs and maintenance activities, an area dominated by males. However, the overall involvement of females in household work remained higher. "...the increase in men feeding children, bathing them and playing with them is higher than that of women," CEPA observed. The number of males who assisted in feeding children had increased by 12.5 percent compared to the increase of five percent recorded by females. While women had been mostly involved in office work, 97 percent of males said they found it difficult to work from home due to household chores and care responsibilities. "Compared to men, more women are worried about loss of income and/or jobs, balancing work at home and doing paid work from home," CEPA noted. It added that women were also more worried about the spread of the virus and the health of their family members.