Number of housewives falls while househusbands double
The number of women running the household and raising children full-time in Flanders has fallen dramatically in 15 years, according to the economy ministry, while the number of men doing the same job has doubled
Dual incomes needed
There are currently 233,000 women in Flanders who run the household and – in many cases – raise children full-time. There were more than 300,000 housewives five years ago and more than 700,000 in 1990.
“For most families, a dual income has become a necessity,” Professor Charlotte Declerck, a specialist in family law at Hasselt University, told Het Nieuwsblad. “I think more women would like to be a housewife, but it’s often not financially feasible.”
She pointed out that housewives are not well-protected legally if they are not married. If the relationship ends, property is strictly separated, meaning the man keeps all he earned from his job. “There should be compensation for the household work that women have carried out during the years,” said Declerck.
Meanwhile, the number of housewives of foreign origin has doubled in 15 years. About three in 10 women in Flanders who was not born in the EU is a housewife. The number of househusbands has also doubled in that time, from about 3,000 to 6,000. The figures are an extrapolation of data gathered through a random survey.
Photo by Ingimage
