Our Report is Out: Impact of #COVID-19 on Professional Women's Unpaid Work

In April-May 2020 I run a survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on professional women’s unpaid work. The project was run in conjunction with the Global Professional Women’s Network (PWN). We were able to gather more than 1,300 answers across the US, the UK, and Europe. Thanks to all of you than filled in the survey!I’ve lost count of how many evenings, weekends, and holidays I’ve spent analyzing the data, but the good news it’s that the report is finally out and I’d really appreciate any help with creating awareness about this research.The results are sobering. Some highlights:1.- Professional women in the 36 to 45 age group are burned out as a consequence of the significant increase in their unpaid work.2.- During lockdowns, 63% of professional women with caregiving and schooling responsibilities shouldered most of the domestic work. Only 22% reported an egalitarian share of the additional household chores during the pandemic.3.- Professional women across France, Italy, Spain, the UK, the US, and Slovenia bore the brunt of increased household chores.4.- With the exception of professional women living in Norway and Slovenia, respondents in all other countries reported an overall decrease in the leisure time during lockdowns.5.- The respondents missed on an annual income of €5,899 in unpaid work in 2019. During the lockdowns, this increased to €13,266/year.6.- The report provides food for thought for individuals, employers, and governmental organizations to support working women with integrating work and family life.Women told us...“I am BURNED OUT! My kids are at the young age where I don’t need to worry about their academic progress. So, I just park them in front of the TV while working 10-12 hour days. Not proud of it, but that’s the state of things. My kids’ social skills are taking a big hit. I’m not worried about my job, but I am worried about my kids’ social and emotional development.““My husband makes less than me and is staying home with our children. I still perform the majority of the household tasks, while also working full-time in a much more stressful situation than before.““I can do more leisure time because I do not spend 3 hours per day for traveling to the job place.““My husband whilst he’s stepping up, his childcare responsibilities haven’t been discussed at work. An assumption all round that wife picks up the slack”Does this research resonate with your experience of the lockdowns?As this work is 100% non-profit, we are actively looking at ways to amplify/promote its key findings.https://patriciagestoso.com/impact-covid-19-women-unpaid-work/

Our Report is Out: Impact of #COVID-19 on Professional Women's Unpaid Workhttps://patriciagestoso.com/impact-covid-19-women-unpaid-work/

Our Report is Out: Impact of #COVID-19 on Professional Women's Unpaid Workhttps://patriciagestoso.com/impact-covid-19-women-unpaid-work/