Band 7+: The bar chart below shows the average duration of housework women did (unemployed, part-time employed and full-time) when compared to men who had full-time work in the UK between 1985 and 2005. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar graph illustrates the comparison of the amount of time spent on housework between men working full-time and three categories of women in the UK over a 30-year period that started in 1985.

Overall, unemployed women led in housework, with no change in the hours spent over the 30-year period. All other groups saw an increase in the time spent on housework, averaging half an hour per group.

While the hours that unemployed women dedicated to housework remained the same from 1985 to 1995, they decreased by nearly half an hour – from 7 to 6.5 hours. Subsequently, in the next 10 years, the hours increased again until 2005, reaching the initial amount of 7 hours.

The other three categories showed an upward trend in the hours spent on housework. However, in 1995, women with part-time and full-time employment spent 0.5 hours less on housework compared to previous years. Only men working full-time consistently increased the hours spent on housework, with no change from 1985 to 1995 and an increase to 1.5 hours in the following decade.