According to Bouton's view on the domestic division of labour, surveys often misrepresent how much childcare men actually do. Which statement best captures her stance?

• A. Surveys exaggerate how much childcare men actually do.
• B. Men actually do most childcare.
• C. Men do no childcare at all.
• D. Women's paid employment is unaffected by childcare.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how we measure who does childcare within families. Bouton argues that surveys can distort the reality of the domestic split by how people report their behavior. In particular, she suggests that surveys tend to overstate how much childcare men actually do. This can happen because questions are framed in ways that include occasional or incidental help as “care,” or because respondents want to present themselves in a more egalitarian light. As a result, the data give the impression that men contribute more to childcare than they really do on a day-to-day basis. In contrast, a true picture shows that women carry the bulk of childcare responsibilities, with men contributing less than these survey figures imply.