Global Market Surferby INTAGE Inc

In which countries do men actively participate in housework? Division of housework between men and women and prevalence of support appliances in Asian countries

The notion that “men work outside the home and women stay at home to do housework and raise children” is becoming a minority view in modern Japan. With approximately 70% of all Japanese working together and women working outside the home as a matter of course, the opportunities for men to share in the household chores that were previously the sole responsibility of women are inevitably on the rise. What about overseas? In this issue, we will examine the differences and similarities in the way of thinking about the division of household chores and support appliances in each country, based on data from Taiwan from Greater China, Indonesia from Southeast Asia, and Singapore, an economically advanced country.

Household chores for Asian men

What types of household chores do men in Asian countries share? Based on INTAGE's Global Viewer (conducted in 2024) of overseas sei-katsu-sha data, we confirmed who is in charge of each type of household chore in Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Figure 1) Percentage of respondents who answered “myself” for each gender among those in charge of different household chores (multiple responses) (Base: Married persons)
Source: Intage Global Viewer (2024)

In Taiwan and Singapore, although a higher percentage of women share cooking, men also share about half of this responsibility. In addition, the proportion of men washing dishes and cleaning the living room is quite close to that of women, and it is fair to say that the work is shared almost regardless of gender. In Indonesia, on the other hand, there is a marked difference between men and women, and there seems to be a strong perception that “housework is the role of women. The degree of women's social advancement and the size of the household are thought to be influential.

Popularity and purchase intention of home appliances to support housework

In addition to sharing household chores with men, there is also the option of using technology. How widespread is the use of home appliances to support housework? We checked the current ownership of the above household chore-related appliances and their purchase consideration for the next one year.

Figure 2: Household appliances (white goods and large appliances) (multiple answers)
Excerpt from (Base: Married people)
Source: Intage Global Viewer (2024)

It is noteworthy that the percentage of respondents who are considering purchasing a robot vacuum cleaner in the next one year is higher than the percentage of those who currently own one. As for robot vacuum cleaners, more than half of the respondents who currently own one, and more than three times as many in Indonesia, are considering purchasing one within a year.
For comparison, when we checked home appliances that are already in widespread use, for example, rice cookers accounted for 82% of the current ownership in total in the surveyed countries, while only 11% were considering purchasing a rice cooker, and refrigerators accounted for 89% of the current ownership, while 16% were considering purchasing a refrigerator. Assuming that this is the level of replacement demand, the purchase intention for the appliances listed in the graph above is clearly high, indicating that many people are considering the introduction of new appliances in the future. The penetration rate may increase considerably in a few years.

Incidentally, a common feature of the three appliances listed above is that they can be left alone to complete their tasks. The typa is the best, since the work is completed automatically by turning on the switch. There are many reasons to consider purchasing these appliances, but saving time and effort will definitely be included.

Perspectives on Technology Innovation

Research on technology used in convenient home appliances, especially the use of AI, has advanced dramatically in recent years. We also checked to see to what extent sei-katsu-sha have high expectations for this technology.

Figure 3: Excerpt from Views on Technology Innovation,
Calculated TOP 2 BOX of 5-step listening (Base: Married people)
Source: Intage Global Viewer (2024)

For both items, the TOP 2 BOX accounts for more than 60%, and “very applicable” alone accounts for around 20%, indicating a high level of expectation that technological developments will make their lives more affluent. This shows the breath of people who are trying to get through their busy lives and advance their lifestyles while relying on technology as well.

In today's society, many people, regardless of gender, lead busy lives. As the number of things they want to do increases, the demand for home appliances that support their household chores will grow. As economic standards improve in Asian countries, including Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia, which were discussed in this report, there will be an even greater demand for home appliances that support household chores, especially AI-equipped robot vacuum cleaners and high-tech cooking appliances, which can complete household chores before we know it, without us having to do anything. I believe that this will be the case in the future.

What is Global Viewer?

This service provides reports tailored to your issues using questionnaire data on various actual conditions and attitudes of sei-katsu-sha in 11 countries (Asia and US) stocked by INTAGE.
The service covers 400 items, including actual behavioral conditions and awareness, values, and information contact related to various product and service categories (*).

Examples of categories:
Food and beverages, personal care/cosmetics, house hold care, childcare/nursing care, mobility, home appliances, smart home, housing, entertainment content (games, music, etc.), finance, insurance, travel (to Japan), online services, etc.
In addition to country-by-country comparative analysis as described in this article, analysis by attributes (sex, age, income, etc.) within a single country is also possible.

For details, click here.

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  Author profile

  Rio Yokoyama

  In his current position from 2022, he is in charge of overseas marketing research for Japanese companies.

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  Editor profile

  Risa Takahama

  After working in marketing research support for Japanese FMCG manufacturers (cosmetics, baby products, food and beverages, etc.) in Asia, Europe, and the United States, from 2019, in her current position, she develops solutions for overseas marketing research for Japanese companies and conducts seminars and other outward communications.
  Since the birth of her child, her greatest concern is how to maintain the physical and mental health of her family and herself, and she has been experimenting with various goods and services.

• Apr 24, 2025
• 81 Views