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Rich husbands are significantly less likely to help their wives with chores, according to a new study.

However, even after accounting for work hours and salary, women are still doing significantly more housework than men, according to researchers.

"There's a stark difference in couples' attitudes towards gender equality depending on how much they are earning," lead researcher Dr. Clare Lyonette, from the Institute for Employment Research, said in a news release.

"It seems men on lower incomes are happily picking up the dusters, filling the dishwasher and generally starting to do their bit. Times are changing and they acknowledge there's now a need for more equality in the home," said Lyonette. "But there's a different attitude when it comes to higher earners. We found that while men in these households do also recognize the need to help their partners, they remain reluctant to lift a finger and appear to simply throw money at the issue by hiring a cleaner instead."

"And although men in general are starting to make themselves more useful around the house, regardless of income, the age old theory remains the same - women, on the whole, are doing the most," she added.

All couples included in the study had at least one child under the age of 14.

"Men from lower-income families certainly seem to be starting to do their bit around the home. But at the same time, until all men are willing to take on more domestic tasks, so allowing women to take on greater responsibility within the workplace, any hoped-for progress in gender equality is likely to stall," Lyonette concluded.

The findings were published in the February 2015 edition of the journal Work, Employment and Society.