OECD Countries Where Women Work The Most Unpaid Hours

Gender inequality is a controversial issue that just never seems to go away. Although gender inequality affects men and women, the term has been used to emphasize more on women’s discrimination in the workplace and political representation. Whether politics, employment, salaries and wages, and working hour, a majority of women are disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts.

OECD Countries Where Women Work The Most Unpaid Hours

Women work more unpaid work compared to men regardless of whether married on not. On average women in developing countries work 4.5hrs of unpaid work compared to 1.33hrs for men. In developed countries, women work unpaid for 4.33 hrs while men work for 2.33 hrs. Unpaid chores include routine housework, shopping, child and adult care, and volunteer work. Of the thirty-five OECD countries, Mexican women spend the most time on unpaid duties. On average a Mexican woman spends 6hrs 23 minutes working without pay compared to 2h 17m for men. Portuguese women rank second with 5h 28m per day while Australian women work for 5hrs 11m. Swedish women work the least hours without pay among the OECD countries. On average a Swedish woman works for 3hrs 26min without pay compared to men who work for 2hrs and 26min. Canadian women work for 3h 43m while American women work for 4h 03m. Slovenian women spend the most time on routine housework (1hr 54 min) while Japanese women spend only 14 minutes doing the housework. German women spend 27 minutes shopping daily while Korean women shop for only six minutes.

Trends In Unpaid Work

A newly graduate woman entering the job market today will spend four more years on the job than her male counterpart to earn an equal amount over her lifetime. The bulk of the difference is not due to wage discrimination on paid hours but due to the difference in their working hours. On average a woman works for a whole month a year on unpaid chores such as caring for children and housework. Women in formal workplace log fewer hours compared to their male counterparts, the situation worsens in informal jobs. The issue of unpaid work is less spoken because its value cannot be determined and therefore is not accounted for in the gross domestic product statistics. Although more women are joining the formal employments, the time they spend in unpaid duties is not expected to drop anytime soon.