LADIES: do you do your boyfriend's laundry? (Or your partner at any stage, really.)
If so, you should stop.
I know, I know, it sounds kind of intense to be like "PUT DOWN THE LAUNDRY" - but Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently explained exactly why this simple act of *not* doing your partner's laundry is important for young women.
Sheryl explained that equality starts at home, specifically in the laundry room. She told PEOPLE magazine:
“I’ve been saying this forever, and I’m going to keep saying this: we need a better balance of work in the home... For any young women, if you have a boyfriend, and you’re about to go do your boyfriend’s laundry: don’t do it! You’re going to be doing that guy’s laundry for the next five decades.”
We got into the topic on the show this morning and I definitely think it's true that us women often take a lot more of the mental load - whether that's worrying about laundry or more about the kids - at home! Watch the whole conversation:
Sheryl also talked about the new challenges and stressors working women are facing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, one in four women are contemplating downshifting or leaving the workforce - the majority saying it is due to childcare responsibilities.
She explained how before the pandemic, most women were working a "double shift" — first doing their job at work and then doing another while attending to their family's needs at home. But now, while working from home, balancing kids' online classes, caring for sick relatives and doing housework, they're working a "double double shift."
A report actually found that women are doing about 70 hours of housework and childcare per week, while the average man completes 50 hours of the same work. Big difference there!
Sheryl suggests having the hard conversations with your partner about sharing the housework and childcare more evenly, and I have to say, it will absolutely benefit your children as well as you! Think, the more your kids see their parents sharing an equal load of housework and childcare, the more likely they will grow up to equally split this kind of work in their own relationships and partnerships later in life!
So, again, put your boyfriend's laundry down!!
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