The charts illustrate the average daily time, in minutes, that men and women in the UK spent on leisure and housework activities in 2010.
Overall, men spent more time on leisure activities, while women were more engaged in housework. The largest gender gap was seen in cooking and washing, which was mostly done by women, whereas men tended to spend more time watching TV or doing repairs.
In terms of leisure, men devoted 137 minutes per day to TV, radio, and video, compared with 118 minutes for women. Reading was slightly more popular among women (19 minutes) than men (18 minutes). Similarly, men participated more in sport exercises (15 minutes) than women (11 minutes).
Regarding housework, women spent far more time cooking and washing, averaging about 75 minutes daily, while men spent just under 20 minutes. Women also spent almost 30 minutes shopping, which was roughly twice as long as men. In contrast, men were more active in repair work, spending about 20 minutes compared to less than 10 minutes for women. For clothing, washing, and ironing, women again spent significantly more time, averaging about 25 minutes per day, whereas men contributed very little.
In conclusion, men tended to focus more on leisure activities, particularly media and sports, while women were primarily responsible for housework, especially cooking, cleaning, and shopping.