Absolutely this. Fewer women prior to the 60’s may have been “at work” in the sense we now think, but many, many women (especially in poorer households) did work- often in much more physically demanding jobs than nowadays- as well as bringing up their families and doing household chores. My paternal grandmother and great-grandmother (fishermen’s wives) both worked (gutting/dressing fish/repairing nets and an oilskin factory, respectively) and this was very common among their peers. There was no maternity leave, no sick pay etc. In addition, many women had informal “jobs” or aided their husband by working alongside/doing work behind the scenes (common in farming and fishing communities, for instance, but also shop-keepers). I have absolutely no wish to return to those days- but let’s not pretend that everything is harder for women now. The challenges are different, not necessarily harder.
On top of this, the housework was very different before household appliances were common. More time consuming and sometimes more physically demanding. So even for those who weren’t in formal employment housework would have taken up more time. My mother remembers when her parents bought their first washing machine. Prior to that it had been hand washing/mangle etc. My grandmother had “wash days” at the local community laundry (not laundrette- this was hand washing) and clothes were dried on the green or the laundry had an inside area. Some families had pulleys. My father was born in 1951 and he can remember this, so within living memory.
Meals had to be made from scratch. Freezers didn’t exist, or were only for those who could afford them in the early days, so could batch cook and freeze. No ready meals/much less in way of prepared and processed foods. No hoovers, no microwaves to hear things in seconds. Everything took longer as had to be done by hand.
Our lives are different now, with different pressures, but let’s not pretend that women didn’t work in the past. They did and housework was far more time consuming than it has to be now. It’s really not as simple as “no working mother has time for washing cloth nappies, but the mothers in the past did as they did not work”. I work full time, in a professional job with long hours. I found it easy to integrate into my routine, it is possible if it’s something you want to do. It also isn’t as expensive as you think, can get second hand and there are grants too. No need for a tumble drier. It is less convenient, but it’s not uncommon to have to pay now for convenience.
Either way- it’s not about each woman “challenging the patriarchy” whilst she’s on maternity leave. My point is that it is up to each of us to manage our own relationships. The government, local authorities or whoever cannot make policy based on whether some/many women do more than their fair share of housework! That is up to each of us to sort within our relationships.
Most women are not in arranged or forced marriages/co-habiting partnerships. The majority of women chose to get married/live with their partner, they are partly responsible for domestic arrangements and if they aren’t happy they are the only ones who can ask/demand change if they aren’t happy. They are the only ones who can chose whether to stay and put up with the situation if their partner won’t change, or whether to leave. They are the ones who choose to have children with these men who won’t share the burden of household chores. Of course, men who don’t share household chores (and childcare) are equally, if not more, responsible for their failings as women who tolerate it. BUT if you chose to be in a relationship, live with and have a child (or children) with a man who will not act like an equal partner, who do you expect to be able to change that?