Women work seven hours more per week than men, study finds

Nearly a third of mothers with young children reported that they ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’ found it difficult to concentrate on their jobs because of family responsibilities.

Mothers of young children who did their jobs remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic were vastly more affected than other groups when it comes to work-life conflict.

In addition, among those with jobs, women’s total weekly working time when paid and unpaid work are combined exceeds that of men by seven hours in the EU.

This is according to research from the Dublin-based EU agency Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, which found that such interference in work and life circumstances "increased dramatically" during the crisis.

Nearly a third of mothers with young children reported that they ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’ found it difficult to concentrate on their jobs because of family responsibilities.

'Social norms'

Eurofound's key findings from its pandemic and the gender divide at work and home research said traditional gender roles with women as primary caregivers "are still deeply rooted in social norms — for both women and men — and this is reflected in paid and unpaid work".

It added: "As Europe emerges from the pandemic, policymakers need to take note of that the fact that voluntary, flexible work arrangements — most likely to be adopted by women — can also mean increased unpaid workload and lower visibility in the workplace, with long-term consequences for career progression, pay and pensions."

The pandemic has highlighted the critical role of care services in supporting women’s participation in work, financial security, and overall well-being, it said.

"It is essential that member states support the provision of good-quality, accessible and affordable care services in all areas, while addressing staff shortages and improving the working conditions in these sectors."

Childcare

The pre-pandemic trend of women carrying out around twice the number of unpaid working hours of men continued, Eurofound said. The crisis increased the need for households themselves to provide services such as childcare and cleaning, it added. 

"Gender segregation in unpaid tasks deepened, with women’s share of time-intensive tasks (such as caring, meal preparation, and cleaning) increasing, while men’s share of less time-demanding tasks (such as gardening, house repairs and transporting family members) also increased."

As an exception, in dual-income families where the mother did not telework, the share of childcare duties among remote-working fathers went up, the research showed.

The work-life balance issues are having an impact on women's health, the data show.

"Women are more likely than men to report a deterioration in their general health. Women have also experienced higher levels of depression, lower levels of optimism about the future, and higher rates of being at risk of poverty or social exclusion."