Are Men Happier Than Women?

ask There’s a growing happiness gap between men and women, says this New York Times article. According to new research, women today report being less happy than men, a reverse in findings from studies done in the 1970s.

The reason? The article says women now have a much longer to-do list then they once did. Their mothers wanted a well-kept house and well-adjusted children. Women today want those things, too, and they also want a meaningful and successful career.

The difference in satisfaction between men and women shows “just how incomplete the gender revolution has been,” the article says. “Although women have flooded into the work force, American society hasnÂ’t fully come to grips with the change. The United States still doesnÂ’t have universal preschool and . . . men still havenÂ’t figured out how to shoulder their fair share of the household burden.” For example, the article says that the average time devoted to dusting has fallen in recent decades. Since men aren’t picking up the slack, the author speculates that homes have become dirtier and this bugs women more than men.

It’s true that I — and women I know — often feel overwhelmed with work, kids, housework and our own parents, probably to a greater degree than my husband does. So if women are indeed unhappier than men, what’s the answer? Would narrowing our ambitions, and our lives, really make us happier? Would more support, like universal childcare, paid leave for new parents, and husbands who do more at home bump up women’s happiness quotient?