Chore apps were meant to make mothers’ lives easier. They often don’t.

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Some apps are similar to enterprise software. The founder of the app Maple says that his apps are inspired by workplace tools and that family members can choose their own tasks via chat.

Research into domestic inequality inspired other approaches. Many solutions are targeting women, and we thought that was missing the point, according to Rachel Drapper, a research associate at Harvard Business School. Drapper's solution is to crowdsource data on how households split their chores and use it to inform other households about what works and what doesn't.

The problem is that these apps face a difficult task in trying to overturn societal norms. Women in same-sex couples are noticeably more egalitarian than women in heterosexual couples. The imbalance gets worse when women become mothers.

The issue is how men can play an equal part in housework. Men in more equal societies take on a more equal share. If neither partner has the time or energy, the government may come to their aid. The state of Sweden pays half of the bill for hiring out chores like laundry and house cleaning, which means many more busy families can afford to do so. That helps women's earning potential. A subsidy for outsourcing chores led to an increase in women's employment in Belgium.

Many women in the United States are at a crisis point with little in the way of safety nets.

Papering over inequalities

Part of the reason that apps are struggling to make a difference in women's housework load is that most of the labor is mental and emotional. Allison Daminger, a PhD student in sociology at Harvard, says that the burden still falls on women to anticipate the needs of those around them and make day-to-day decisions on behalf of the family. It might be a good idea to research the best deal for a couch or to schedule a child's visit to the dentist. Even if it is hidden from others, it is still time- consuming.

The status quo is that it is usually women who delegate household tasks.

The assistant professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina is an expert on the role of gender expectations in couple dynamics. She is piloting her own app, a chore calendar that tries to dodge gendered traps by dividing household chores between both partners. It wants to put into writing what each person is doing.

Chapman Clark says that using her chore app made the invisible labor visible and helped her husband notice that there were more chores than just sweeping.

Some people don't like seeing the discrepancy between a couple's contributions. This is an uphill battle, according to Wong's research. She notes that people get defensive when they are told they are not equal partners. Couples may abandon an app for that reason even if it helps them in the long run.

apps seem to paper over gender inequalities in the home They can sour relationships if they are seen as a management tool rather than a partnership tool.

One of the ways we excuse gender inequality is that a husband might feel that way. It makes for a strange power dynamic.

The success of an app is dependent on the partner who has been doing less buying into it.

A chore app can only get an unwilling partner to pitch in, and it can't reverse centuries of sexism. It can help to make who does what around the house more visible, but it can't change the situation unless both members of a couple buy into the need for change.

“I’m often approached by [chore app] entrepreneurs, and the feedback I almost always give is, ‘How are you going to ensure male uptake in engagement?’” says Daminger. “That’s the biggest hurdle, and I don’t know of anyone who has cracked that.”