Women 'give housework low priority'

WOMEN have better things to do than housework and men delude themselves in thinking they help out, according to a survey today.

The survey in the July edition of Good Housekeeping magazine showed that 68 per cent of women did not regard the house as the most important thing in their life.

Only 15 per cent of women baked their own bread - a regular activity 70 years ago - and just 19 per cent had a regular laundry day.

There was sharp disagreement between the sexes about chores. When it came to grocery shopping, 14 per cent of women and 28 per cent of men said it was shared while 8 per cent of women said the cooking was shared, compared with 18 per cent of men.

'Housewife' was an old-fashioned term according to half the women. 'Home manager' was better, said 26 per cent, although one in 10 suggested 'domestic slave' as the most accurate term.