Washington, August 08: Women have a thing for men who are prepared to ‘chip in’ around the house, according to a new study.
The Oxford University study looked at relationships in 13 countries to reach the conclusion.
Researchers quizzed 13,500 men and women aged between 20 and 45 from each country about gender, housework and childcare responsibilities.
The research ranked British men as the third most likely to win women’s hearts through their devotion to domestic life.
Swedes and Norwegians topped the table while Australian men came in last, rated as the least attractive in terms of pulling their weight around the house.
The study examined marriage and cohabitation rates across the developed world and compared them to attitudes towards the roles of men and women at home.
Based on their responses, each country was given a rating on an “egalitarian index”, which was then compared against the number of couples living together.
Dr Almudena Seville-Sanz, of the university’s Centre for Time Use Research, said: “This study shows that in egalitarian countries there is less social stigma attached to men doing what was traditionally women’s work.
“This leads to men in egalitarian societies taking on more of a domestic role so the likelihood of forming a harmonious household becomes greater, resulting in a higher proportion of couples setting up households in these countries.”
–Agencies