Women are "conditioned from childhood" to do more housework than men, Ciara Kelly has said.

According to a wide body of research, women still carry out the majority of household tasks.

A 2019 study found that Irish women on average do 20 hours of chores a week - while men do only nine.

A recent study by the US Fair Play Institute also found that women take on a higher "cognitive" workload - namely, the planning, overseeing and assigning of chores.

On Newstalk Breakfast, presenter Ciara Kelly said in her experience, women have always done "the bulk of the housework".

"Women have been conditioned to do this," she said.

Conditioning

Ciara said she thinks the way girls are raised and societal expectations have a role to play in women taking on more housework.

This conditioning is reflected in some women having higher standards for cleaning, Ciara said.

"Women have to carry that cognitive workload - and that's really hard.

"It's really easy to go 'Men don't pull their weight', but I think women have perfectionist tendencies that they're probably conditioned to have from childhood."

Shane Coleman in the Newstalk studio. Image: Newstalk

Co-presenter Shane Coleman said the research on the chore gap made him consider the load he takes on at home.

"You do question how good or how bad you are," he said.

"When it comes to cleaning - I'm actually good, and I'm decent at cooking.

"I'm the only one who does the hoovering."

Shane said, however, that there are a number of areas where he could improve - such as washing clothes or Christmas present shopping.

He said he is "on the periphery" when it comes to buying Christmas presents.

Feature image shows a woman using a vacuum cleaner (Alamy) and Ciara Kelly