When men and women living in couples were asked who generally makes the decisions in four familiar areas of domestic life — weekend plans, household finances, big purchases and what to watch on TV — 43% said it was the woman who makes decisions in more areas than the man. By contrast, men make more of the decisions in only about a quarter (26%) of all couples. And about three-in-ten couples (31%) split decision-making responsibilities equally. While respondents were not explicitly asked whether they generally share decisions, it was volunteered and often recorded as an answer. About half said that they jointly decide on weekend activities and buying big things for the home. Read More
Russell Heimlich is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.
