Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad campaign sheds light on how the uneven division of household chores like laundry the doesn’t allow women to get enough sleep and rest
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being a part of a very interesting conversation about gender equality and sharing of household duties. In its fourth edition of the topic of sharing the load, Ariel sparked conversation around the impact of what happens when men don’t share the load of household chores, and also about what they can do to help tackle this.
A lot of the burden of household chores, especially laundry, usually rests on the women of the house. Long days revolving around caring for the family and tending to the house don’t allow enough time for women to decompress and sleep. In cases where the men do help, the onus of getting everything done still lies on the woman, thus the mental load of the work being solely hers. I’ve seen this happen in my own house, sadly. I’ve always seen my mum have to own the responsibility and find it unfair. I’m glad these kind of conversations have begun. It has definitely helped make a shift in this thinking at home.
Eye-opening statistics and thoughts were shared in a panel discussion that took place on the day. Orchestrated by Mandira Bedi, the panel had filmmaker and author Tahira Kashyap; Sharat Verma, CMO, P&G India and Head, Fabric Care Indian Subcontinent; Josy Paul, Chairman and CCO, BBDO India.
The personal experiences shared were touching and also showed how men are increasingly trying to become equal partners in the running of the household. the dynamic within households has shifted. With 79% men in 2014 who thought laundry is only a woman’s job, after 5 years in 2019 this has dropped to 41%. With significant influence on the thought process, Ariel takes the onus to now drive action. Most men agreed, that the simplest task for them to start taking over, is laundry. Thus, Ariel aims to make laundry the face of this movement against inequality within households by urging men to take the first step to #ShareTheLaundry and eventually, #ShareTheLoad for #EqualSleep.
In 2019, Ariel also started to drive action, urging parents to raise their sons like they have been raising their daughters, so that the future generation is more equal. And this for me is a big win!
What has been your experience with this? I’d love to know! I’d also urge you to spread this message and be a change maker!
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