The study results are not much of a suprise. I've noticed that women have more work than men. Our culture, in particular parents, model for their kids (male and female)these roles.

There is not much incentive for men to break out of this role. It means more work and it definitely doesn't make them more popular with women.

In short: Women sow the seeds of their own demise. They should reward (form relationships) men for being egalitarian and teach their boys to do more housework. Otherwise things will stay the same. Which is not good for either gender.

Sent by Brian Wilson | 5:39 PM ET | 09-27-2007

Brian, what incentive would you recommend we women use to get men to assume a more fair proportion of the household responsibilities? It seems that many women are choosing divorce or single parenthood, and this isn't really the best solution for anyone. Our boys are learning from their fathers - we have to start now, not wait a generation. Any ideas?

Sent by Natalie Downing | 8:26 PM ET | 09-27-2007

Teach their boys to do more housework? Sure. Instead of playing football in high school, have your son take cooking classes in Home Ed. Why didn't I think of that?

Sent by dans | 8:30 PM ET | 09-27-2007

"No woman marries for money; they are all clever enough, before marrying a millionaire, to fall in love with him first."- Cesare Pavese.

I do not believe that all men are happier nowadays. By nature men like to provide and with women's role changing and being more independent and schooled- they don't need to provide as much any more and women have more freedom.
I have met men that also were very successful and extremely insecure in themselves, especially when they didn't have a family or a wife.

Times have changed.

Sent by Filomena | 8:38 PM ET | 09-27-2007

To add one more thing: men have more "freedom" because we women just leave them when we don't like them. We don't need money anymore. We work, we look for compatibility and real love.

That's why you have so many "free/available" men. Becuase we women get rid of them and we don't stick with them and have to put up with them.

Sent by Filomeni | 8:42 PM ET | 09-27-2007

Dans- I laughed so much by your comment. I actually have a friend who bought her son Barbie dolls and a pink girls cooking kitchen set...wahteveer the meaning of that was. I still know fathers though that are "stay at home Moms" and the Moms got to work.
Roles have changed so much.

Guys play alot? You mean play and look for victims on line while we women do it all alone? Raise children alone and go to school and have successful business careers?

Sent by Filomena | 9:16 PM ET | 09-27-2007

Before my kids left the home for college, they had to know how to cook at least 4 different meals, wash their own clothes, clean the bathroom, and manage a checkbook which they both had since they were 15. They were both active in sports and other extracurricular activities. Now as a young man and young woman, they have both thanked us as parents for giving them a good start towards being responsible roomates and hopefully later, spouses.We can teach our children more than we were raised with!!

Sent by Susan | 2:45 AM ET | 09-28-2007

My Mother had three boys, a husband and owned her own beauty salon, in 1970! She taught us to wash our own clothes fold and iron them. We always waited for her day off on Wednesdays. Each us was were standing at the stove with a stick of butter waiting for those homemade tortillas. Our two teenagers wash, fold and iron. Prepare dinner twice a week and grocery shop so there are no complaints about the menu.

Sent by Joe Martinez, Austin, Tx | 9:30 AM ET | 09-28-2007

Implementing truly equal workloads is much more difficult than aggreeing upon it. I can share the experience that while my husband agrees that we both work and should share the housework, he's finished thinking about what needs to be done when he comes home from work. Willing to help out in theory, he doesnt take initatiave which leaves me to nag him, go mad waiting for him to address the mess, or do it myself (guess which one I often find easier.) Raised by a mom who worked part time and did all the housework, he thinks that wiping down the vanity = cleaning the bathroom, and mops by spraying cleaner on the floor and chasing it with the mop. I'm working on showing him that using a bucket and scrubbrush IS easier than using a wad of disentegrating paper towels *without* discouraging him or creating resentment. Yet I can understand why a lot of working women choose the path of least resistance and do it all themselves.
I'm not sharing this to complain about my amazing partner, but to illustrate that husbands of working wives often don't shoulder the direction and responsibility of meals/cleaning, making home time relaxation peppered with chores wheras for the women coming home from work is to put on the captain's hat while your first mate is playing video games.

Sent by Shannon | 9:37 AM ET | 09-28-2007

it is more about types of people rather than gender. I have seen the similarities on both sides..good and not so good in habits and thinking.everyone is being so absolute and general. This is what keeps the negative dialogue of seperatistism. We probably have more women in the world as our wars contribute to the loss..My mid-age women friends would like to have a man, not a child, in our lives for the right reasons, companionship, to share the load, goals, interests etc..However the media world gives too much emphasis on youth and status and we more experienced and more worn, are disregarded.

Sent by melissa noble | 10:01 AM ET | 09-28-2007

Shannon--I couldn't agree more. I love my husband and he does his part around the house AFTER I decide what needs to be done and I make the chore list, the grocery list, etc... there is something very draining about being the person who always initiates this drag of responsibilites.

Sent by Carrie | 10:08 AM ET | 09-28-2007

I raised a 24 yr son single handedly..Yes his dad was involved. I had not other family to help. I worked as a self employed hair stylist in my home so I could be a hands on mom. It has cost me professionally as many shops and spas have infiltrated the community.
The lack of high visabilty has had an impact. Who would have thought the economy would take such a turn. I am glad to have been for my son what I did not have (I was a foster).. Only my son seems self centered in a selfish way and competitive with me in his young adulthood. He always has girlfriends that he can dominate..I was a balanced mom.I did not spoil and did made him accountable and encouraged to be self sufficient.He is very tidy. I do not understand why he is not more supportive or respectful towards me.I have my fingers crossed this will change in due time.

Sent by melissa noble | 10:13 AM ET | 09-28-2007

Studies like this stir up the battle of the sexes rather than cooperation. I noticed that most of my friends and family are happy when they have good relationships with their spouses and children. I hope that we all choose happiness and wish that for all whether we have been separated or together. Our happiness is interconnected.

Sent by Jamie | 10:49 AM ET | 09-28-2007

Ben Franklin said beer is proof that God wants man to be happy. Men tend to drink more beer than women, therefore, men are happier in general (until the hangovers hit). So, from this we can deduce that if women drank more beer than men, they'd be happier than men. I propose that all women who wish to be happier meet me at the nearest bar. I'll buy the first round.

Sent by John R. Otten | 8:10 PM ET | 09-28-2007

My husband is an ER physician. I am a stay at home mom. I am also a retired hospital pharmacist. I quit my job when our three teenage boys had too many activities for the two of us to share. Since I was the one who was making less money, it made more sense for me to quit my job. I now do all of the housework, etc. I believe that I am now doing more of the work, and share less of our down time. Although I think working away from home is difficult, it beats doing all of the house work. The work at home...cleaning, laundry, finances...etc. takes up a lot of time, and is boring and time consuming. Perhaps the next generation will get it right.

Sent by Mary Jane Davis | 11:16 PM ET | 09-28-2007

Ironically, my husband has a hard time deciding whether to see to his needs or those of the children [a concept shared with a marriage counselor.] Video poker often wins. I explained that I was having a hard time allocating time between my husband, my children, housework, my job and, always last, myself. Of course men are happier. I would be too if I only had to decide between my needs and those of the rest of the planet. Thank you Shannon and Carrie. John, I could use that beer.

Sent by Clark | 11:14 AM ET | 09-29-2007

I found out when I was married women have a harder time deciding when not to work. I'm serious. See, there is always something that needs doing, and I could never get my wife to work for awhile, then stop, rest, play, etc., for awhile even though not every bit of work was done first. The problem is, it never will be, so men know better when to just stop and rest. That doesn't mean they shouldn't also know when to pick it back up again, but my wife was never happy until everything was done--which meant she was never happy. I refused to work endlessly like a robot, got a rep as a slacker because I wouldn't do "it" when she figured "it" should be done, and ended up single again. Which is fine with me.

Sent by Jeff | 3:55 AM ET | 09-30-2007

Most of these explanations about women's decreasing happiness are pure speculation. Nobody is addressing factors like changes in overall social structures (like communities, clubs, extended families), about different assumptions women make about themselves, diets and sleep patterns. It's a mistake to start blaming each other for "not doing the housework".

Sent by Sabrina | 2:01 PM ET | 09-30-2007

How is happiness defined and measured in this study? What if in our society, women just have more of a habit of declaring their unhappiness than men?

Sent by Sabrina | 2:16 PM ET | 09-30-2007

Men are more apt to take things in stride than women. Women watch Lifetime Network where every show's theme is "poor pitiful women and mean dumb men." It's enough to depress anyone. Lifetime skews reality in favor of such themes just as much as Fox News skews the news in favor of the Republican party.

Sent by Mick Whendom | 11:15 PM ET | 09-30-2007

It seems to me that now a days men and women are doing everything work, cleaning, laundry, cooking, finances, taking care of their children, etc... We live happiness in moments just like every thing else.

Sent by Salvador | 3:25 AM ET | 10-01-2007

Hello from Canada. This issue is very close to my heart because as a happy student academically and then a successful school teacher I was used to feeling good about my life and how I was treated. Then I decided to be a mom and I loved so much being with my baby but I suddenly had dropped off the face of the earth for social status, as well of course for income, tax benefits, pension benefits. I had a cheque turned down because I didn't have a note from my husband. I had a credit card refused because it had his name on it not mine and though we shared bank accounts and house mortgage equally, the clerk felt I could not be trusted. When we needed to talk to a loan officer at the bank they made me wait in the lobby and not go in to see the manager till my husband, the important one apparently, arrived. Of course women are stalking furious about such mistreatment. In the women's movement the right to vote came from middle class women's efforts, women who were used to respect and dignity and who knew and injustice when they saw one. The other day a close acquaintance of mine, Canadian, was in a US university women's studies class, listening carefully to the lecture for an hour and twenty minutes. Then the newborn baby she was holding started to fuss so she quietly began to feed it, blanket over for dignity, and the instructor stopped the lecture and asked her to leave. Breastfeeding in public, even this unobstrusively, apparently upset the middle aged female lecturer.
Are women angry about this? Absolutely.
And we should be. The struggle for women's equality is only half won. We have to also insist that taking care of our children makes us no lesser.
I am back teaching, my children are grown, and I continue this fight. If you asked me if I was happy, I would have to say that I am happy in the struggle because fighting for what is fair is vital to my mental h ealth. But happy about how society treats women?
Not yet. We have a long way to go baby.

Sent by Beverley Smith | 7:52 AM ET | 10-01-2007

The problem lies not with the housework or who's doing or not doing it. But in who's complaining about doing or not doing it. Seems there is no complaint from men about the list of things women won't help them with. Perhaps the problem is a feminine propensity to blame. Sexism? Yeah, it still exists. Deal. If you're waiting for the world to change in order to be happy, you'll be waiting awhile. I don't really mean that to be as cruel as it sounds. But happiness is a decision, not a condition.

BTW, I'm happily married to a happy woman.

Sent by Edward | 5:09 PM ET | 10-01-2007

Good said Edward. But happiness is a decision but when the mind doesn't work well, then is not a good decision. There are alot of people out there with huge mental imbalances, for either the chemical reasons or sanity ones.

Sent by Filomeni | 10:32 PM ET | 10-01-2007

So we are focusing a lot on why women are less happy (as well we should), but what about why men are more happy compared to women? Any specific reasons?

Sent by Fern | 10:41 PM ET | 10-03-2007

Because we men can't compare our happiness to our hunting dogs' happiness.

Sent by dans | 12:56 PM ET | 10-04-2007