[4mitkumar]

And, what could be the potential factors which lead to " lower working hours" for women compared to their male counterparts?

[scarmig]

Women and men both enforce gender roles. The expectation to work longer hours at less fulfilling, more rigid jobs falls on men; the expectation to perform more hours of childcare falls on women.

[4mitkumar]

The existence and origin of societal expectations can be it's own thread. But as long as it's clear that one party does have other responsibilities to cater to, which in turn leads to lower amount of time available to invest in their chosen professions.

[gotoeleven]

We need a government program to prevent women from choosing to work less than men.

[yucky]

This reads so dystopian that I'm hoping it was said in jest. It's scary that I have to ask though, too many people actually think like this.