Time For A Change by Suzanne Scheideker Cook
“Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.” - Nelson Mandela
For many years, I believed if we were granted full equality under the law, we would be equal with men. As I researched equality for women, I realized that we are not equal with men in other arenas which are just as, or possibly even more, important. How could that be? While polite society says equality for women is a must, the reality is different. Across the globe, even in industrialized societies, the percentage of women that are educated is lower, women’s participation in the workplace and in the marketplace is lower, and the value placed on our time is lower.
One of the facts that was highlighted in my last post “Five Facts on Women’s Equality” was that women still bear most of the responsibility for performing unpaid work at home. This includes taking care of children and/or the elderly as well as doing housework. According to the World Bank, women spend 2 to 20 more hours per day than men on these tasks. Sometimes, numbers are hard to visualize without a frame. So, let’s frame this fact by working out the hours for a year.
When a woman works two extra hours each day, she does 730 hours more in family and household chores.
When a woman works five additional hours per day, the total is 1,825 hours more.
When a woman works ten extra hours per day performing this work, she works 3,650 hours more than her male counterpart.
Now, let’s use 2,080 hours which is the standard used for the total hours worked in a year and $12.50 as the hourly wage to see what these hours represent for women and the economy.
A woman performing two extra hours each day on household chores and family duties works 35% of a work year annually. Over a 25-year period of being paid $12.50 per hour, this is $228,125.00.
A woman performing five additional daily hours on these duties works 89% of a work year annually. Over a 25-year period, these hours represent $570,312.50.
A woman performing ten extra hours daily on these duties works 175% (almost two work years) annually and over a 25-year period, this represents $1,140,625.00.
These numbers represent a structural problem in societies around the globe. How can we begin to address this problem and make sharing family chores equitable? That is your personal challenge this week. What can you do? You can be the agent of positive change!
