What if your employer paid for your house cleaner?

If you’re a working mom or dad, you probably know a little something about multi-tasking, especially when it comes to chores around the house. This is especially true for professional women. When biologist Carol Greider got the call from Stockholm letting her know that she had won the Nobel Prize last year, guess what she was doing? Laundry.



This got history professor Londa Schiebinger thinking: is housework really the best use of a professional’s time, woman or man?



Schiebinger is also the Director of Stanford’s Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, so she put her question to the test. The result was a study entitled: “Housework is an Academic Issue.” Schiebinger’s findings led her to suggest a revolutionary solution, which is today’s Radical Idea. Click the audio player to hear more.



On April 7th -- which happens to be "No Housework Day" –- the Michelle R. Clayman Institute will be hosting a workshop to discuss the future of this radical idea.

This story originally aired on February 16, 2010.