If women don’t work while the candles are burning or on Chanukah at all, do men help out more and do the work for the women?
For example, if a woman has work to do at home and her husband is capable of doing this work, and it must be done by the next day, can the husband do the work for his wife so she can make her deadline?
The Chasan Sofer explains that the women are commemorating Yomim Tovim that the yevonim wanted to eliminate through the elimination of Rosh Chodash. There are eight days of Yomim Tovim where women are involved fhrough the lighting of candles, so the men light the candles to remember the neis of oil and the women rest from work at the time the candles are burning to remember the Yomim Tovim.
Women are allowed to work on chanuka. There is a minhag specifically for women- not men- to not to work while candles are lit, specifically for the first half hour – the min. time they need to be lit. While I don’t think that this minhag means that she will miss her deadline (the family could be eating supper together during this time), the husband is always welcome to pitch in!