Women's health suffers, bearing the brunt of household labor DW 12/18/2025

"We've heard it all before: Women do more in the home. They spend more time cooking, cleaning, planning, and caring for children."

"In fact, more than 20 years of research shows that women's disproportionate share of domestic and mental labor has measurable consequences for their health and wellbeing."

""It's important to talk about how much 'invisible' and emotional labor women carry through domestic tasks and caregiving roles," said Annie, a woman in her 40s, living in Thailand."

""Much of the imbalance in the roles of men and women [comes from] how we're raised. With men, there's a certain kind of masculinity training that we are generally unaware of," said Ben Yalom."

Women perform more household tasks including cooking, cleaning, planning, and childcare, and they carry the bulk of domestic and mental labor. More than 20 years of research shows that this disproportionate share of domestic and emotional work produces measurable consequences for women's health and wellbeing. Marriage benefits for women depend on relationship quality, fairness, emotional support, and equitable distribution of mental and emotional labor. Cultural upbringing trains women to be caretakers and emotionally attuned while teaching men masculinity norms that limit their caregiving roles. Invisible cognitive and emotional labor includes managing schedules, planning meals, and organizing tasks, and persists even when both partners work.

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