Mental load: the invisible workload for women
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 9:47 am
You have probably already heard about the gender gap in the distribution of work: in addition to paid work, women spend more time than men on child rearing, caring for family members and doing household chores.
For some years now, the term “mental load” (sometimes also “cognitive load”) has also been used. The concept of mental load refers to all the mental effort and load that keeps a household running, but which is not physically visible.
Is the distribution of work really equitable for both men and women?
Imagine a child's birthday party and he brings a homemade cake to the nursery. The father buys the ingredients and the mother prepares the cake. It seems like a fair distribution of work, doesn't it? But who overseas chinese in europe data made the shopping list? Who checked beforehand whether all the necessary ingredients were at home? Who found out about the allergies of the other children at the nursery? Who compared these allergies with the preferences of the birthday boy and chose a suitable recipe? Who even thought about the fact that the child's birthday is approaching and a gift for the nursery needs to be organised?
At first glance, it seems that the task management is equal, but this is mainly because the to-do list that many women have in their heads remains invisible.
Women carry most of the mental load
In heterosexual relationships, it is mainly women who take on these invisible tasks, as studies have shown . In same-sex relationships, the mental load is shared much more equally. It is of no use for the partner to say “You could have asked me!”, because that does not distribute the mental load.
The woman becomes the project manager for the entire household. She takes on household responsibilities, delegates tasks, and checks that they are completed. Unlike “real” project managers, she also has to take care of household chores. If they were to stop organizing and planning, the negative consequences would soon appear: important doctor’s appointments would be forgotten, birthday presents would not be purchased, essential household items would be missing, etc.
Although mental strain is more evident in families with children, it can also manifest itself in couples without children, in the workplace or in the circle of friends.
For some years now, the term “mental load” (sometimes also “cognitive load”) has also been used. The concept of mental load refers to all the mental effort and load that keeps a household running, but which is not physically visible.
Is the distribution of work really equitable for both men and women?
Imagine a child's birthday party and he brings a homemade cake to the nursery. The father buys the ingredients and the mother prepares the cake. It seems like a fair distribution of work, doesn't it? But who overseas chinese in europe data made the shopping list? Who checked beforehand whether all the necessary ingredients were at home? Who found out about the allergies of the other children at the nursery? Who compared these allergies with the preferences of the birthday boy and chose a suitable recipe? Who even thought about the fact that the child's birthday is approaching and a gift for the nursery needs to be organised?
At first glance, it seems that the task management is equal, but this is mainly because the to-do list that many women have in their heads remains invisible.
Women carry most of the mental load
In heterosexual relationships, it is mainly women who take on these invisible tasks, as studies have shown . In same-sex relationships, the mental load is shared much more equally. It is of no use for the partner to say “You could have asked me!”, because that does not distribute the mental load.
The woman becomes the project manager for the entire household. She takes on household responsibilities, delegates tasks, and checks that they are completed. Unlike “real” project managers, she also has to take care of household chores. If they were to stop organizing and planning, the negative consequences would soon appear: important doctor’s appointments would be forgotten, birthday presents would not be purchased, essential household items would be missing, etc.
Although mental strain is more evident in families with children, it can also manifest itself in couples without children, in the workplace or in the circle of friends.