Leader: Take this feminist progress out to the bins, dear

Who in your house does jobs like catching spiders, mowing the lawn, unblocking the toilet and washing the car? And who tackles tasks like as the laundry, vacuuming, changing the beds and booking the family holidays? If the answer to the first question is the man of the house, if there is one, and to the second the woman, same caveat, then you are typical of most families in the UK.

For if the evidence of a survey we report today is credible, and experts say it is, then the sexual equality revolution has had little or no effect. Old-fashioned and stereotypical it may be but men mainly do the "blue" jobs as they are known while women mainly do the "pink" jobs.

A generation of feminist politicians - Labour's Harriet Harman comes to mind - will be devastated as they spent parliamentary time and taxpayers' money legislating for equality. Despite their efforts it seems we still have a 1950s division of labour in the home.

However, it is never too late. So it is time for men to prove they have a pink side to their character, time for the male of the species to find out where the vacuum cleaner is stored and get some chores done. As long as the spider-catching duties go in the other direction, of course.