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Women still do at least two-thirds of the housework, even in homes where they are the main breadwinner. Research shows that despite greater equality in the workplace and changes to social attitudes, division of household chores has failed to keep pace. In Britain, 70 per cent of all housework is done by women, an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) study found. Even when they work more than 30 hours a week, they still carry out almost two-thirds of the chores. Separate research by insurance company LV found that women are the main breadwinners in four households in ten, earning an average of �14,000 more than their partners, and 59 per cent of female breadwinners juggle their job and motherhood. The ESRC study found men in northern Europe were more likely to help out in the home than their Mediterranean counterparts. Swedish men were the most helpful, doing 40 per cent of housework compared with British men who did 30 per cent and Greek men who did 16 per cent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, men whose wives or girlfriends did most of the housework were more likely to argue about it than those who took on a larger share of the tasks. Sarah Butt, of City University London, who worked on the study, said: �It may be that the unequal division of labour leads to tension in relationships because women accept it as their lot even though it makes them unhappy. 'Or it may be that men feel guilty because they recognise they should be taking on more of the burden.�