Everything begins at home – this phrase seems to be the perfect opening for a discussion about women’s labor and the baggage of pathologies that mark it. It is within the four walls of the household that mechanisms are formed which later shape the lives of adult women for decades.
Everything begins with upbringing. Girls are raised very differently from boys. From an early age, girls are taught that their place is in the home, managing its never-ending duties. Cooking, cleaning, caring for younger siblings – this is their everyday reality, integrated into childhood as a natural ritual.
Meanwhile, boys raised in the same households are treated differently. Their time is considered “more valuable,” their space more autonomous. Research conducted by sociologist Sandra Hofferth of the University of Maryland, based on data from the American Time Use Survey from 2003 to 2014, shows that girls aged 15–19 spend an average of 45 minutes per day on household chores, while boys in the same age group spend only 30 minutes [1]. Similar findings emerge from a global UNICEF report, which reveals that girls worldwide perform 40% more unpaid domestic work than boys [2].
Later, these young individuals enter the education system, where they are again confronted with the divide between feminized professions (which, ironically, are often lower-paid and more frequently found in the informal sector) and masculinized ones. In 2018, a meta-analysis of 78 studies involving over 20,000 children examined how children draw scientists. The results were striking: about 70% of six-year-old girls drew women as scientists, but by the age of 16, only 25% continued to do so. Among boys, the drop was even more pronounced: 17% of six-year-olds depicted female scientists, but by age 16, that figure dropped to just 2% [3]. It is hardly surprising, given that the school system actively reinforces and deepens stereotypical thinking.
For example, data presented by the Women’s History Museum Foundation show that women comprise only about 4% of the historical figures mentioned in Polish history textbooks – not because women did not contribute to history, but because their contributions are systematically excluded. This rigid attachment of children to stereotypical social roles harms both girls and boys, who often struggle to break free from imposed norms later in life.
What follows is a clear chain of cause and effect. One of the most common barriers preventing women from engaging in social and professional life is concern for the home and family [4]. When the Polish Central Statistical Office in 2022 asked women and men about the reasons for their economic inactivity, women most often cited domestic duties, while men pointed to upskilling and education [5]. Again, women, raised to perform domestic work, continue to do so as adults – and in greater proportions.
According to the United Nations, women perform 2.5 times more unpaid domestic and caregiving work than men [6]. The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported in 2018 that women carry out approximately 76.4% of all unpaid caregiving work, compared to 23.6% by men [7]. Data from UN Women indicate that women spend an average of 4.3 hours per day on unpaid care work – nearly three times more than men, who spend about 1.6 hours daily [8]. As a result, women are less able to take on overtime, additional responsibilities, or participate fully in the race for top-level positions – unlike their male colleagues. Not because they lack ambition or work ethic, but for a simple reason: their husbands, like most men, do not share domestic responsibilities equally [9].
According to Oxfam, women and girls perform 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work each day. If this work were compensated at minimum wage, it would be worth at least 10.8 trillion US dollars annually – more than the entire global tech industry [10]. So, are we not fueling the global economy? Yet this labor remains fundamentally undervalued and normalized, leading to both physical and psychological strain for many women.
Despite the burden of balancing professional and family life, Polish women continue to strive for economic independence and the right to make decisions about their lives. However, the absence of a partnership-based model of parenting – still rare in Poland – presents an obstacle.
The numbers speak for themselves: the labor force participation rate among childless women aged 26–30 is about 90%. After the birth of one child, it drops to 78%, and among women with three or more children, it plummets to 62%. The steepest decline is among mothers of young children: only 62% of mothers with children aged 1–3 remain economically active, a 26-percentage point drop compared to their childless peers. And what about men? The picture looks entirely different. For fathers, having a child often acts as a motivator. The labor force participation rate of men with children is as high as 97%, while their childless peers in the same age group record a rate of 92% [11].
Let us assume, then, that a woman overcomes all the barriers. She navigates the sticky floor, breaks through the glass ceiling, and despite the daily struggle with unequal division of responsibilities, reaches a managerial position. Does this mean the path to the top is finally open? Not necessarily. Although more women are assuming leadership roles, many continue to encounter invisible barriers that hinder further advancement. According to a 2024 report by Hays Poland, 56% of women believe that they do not have equal opportunities for promotion due to their gender. By contrast, only 21% of men feel the same. The gap speaks for itself [12].
Even when, after years of effort, struggle, and pushing through invisible barriers, a woman finally reaches the top, she faces yet another challenge. This time, it is not additional responsibilities or dismissive looks – it is the pay gap, a quiet reminder that even at the highest levels, being a woman means earning less. We would like to believe that the gender pay gap is only 4.5% [13]. If we look at the unadjusted gap – the simple percentage difference between men’s and women’s average hourly earnings – it might seem so, and we could even crown ourselves European leaders. Unfortunately, once we calculate the adjusted pay gap, comparing employees with similar experience, age, and positions, the numbers tell a different story: the gap ranges from 12.2% to as high as 30% in managerial positions [14]. So, perhaps things are not so rosy after all.
Women’s work has long been shaped by pathology – by absurdities that are often unconsciously accepted and systems that, rather than supporting them, hold them back. Stereotypes, inequality, and the lack of meaningful support mechanisms mean that women – even at the highest levels – still need to fight for what should be a given.
Fortunately, change is beginning to take tangible form. The European Parliament’s and Council’s Directive 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and caregivers and Directive 2023/970 on strengthening the principle of equal pay are signals that Europe is beginning to take the issue seriously. Yet no directive will change reality unless we first change our own beliefs and find the courage to build a new work culture – one that is not based on someone else’s sacrifice, but on true equality.
Because real change does not begin in legislation – it begins within us.
References
[1] Vide: https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/study-gender-inequality-childhood-chores/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
[2] Harnessing the Power of Data for Girls: Taking stock and looking ahead to 2030 – 7 października 2016 roku.
[3] The Development of Children’s Gender-Science Stereotypes: A Meta-analysis of 5 Decades of U.S. Draw-A-Scientist Studies, 2018 rok – Child Development. David I. Miller, Kyle M. Nolla, Alice H. Eagly i David H. Uttal z Northwestern University.
[4] Biuro Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich, „Kobiety w życiu publicznym – Raport Kantar Polska dla Biura Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich”,[2019].
[5] Główny Urząd Statystyczny Przyczyny bierności zawodowej w wieku produkcyjnym 18–59/64 lata ze względu na płeć w 2022 r.
[6] Budżet czasu ludności, Główny Urząd Statystyczny. Struktura czasu osób powyżej 15 lat w 2013 r.
[7] The Unpaid Care Work and the Labour Market. An analysis of time use data based on the latest World Compilation of Time-use Surveys- Jacques Charmes.
[8] Forecasting time spent in unpaid care and domestic work – UN Woman.
[9] Sylwia Kwaśniewska (2022) Nieodpłatna praca kobiet: równość zaczyna się w domu (https://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/kobiety-praca-dom-nierownosci/).
[10] źrodło internetowe: https://www.oxfam.org/en/not-all-gaps-are-created-equal-true-value-care-work?utm.
[11] źrodło internetowe: https://obserwatorgospodarczy.pl/2022/12/18/macierzynstwo-w-polsce-sprawia-ze-czesc-kobiet-juz-nigdy-nie-wraca-na-rynek-pracy/?
[12] Kobiety na rynku pracy 2024 – HAYS Poland.
[13] Ewa Rumińska-Zimny, Alicja Wejdner – Stowarzyszenie Kongres Kobiet „Kobiety, rynek pracy i równość płac”.
[14] Ewa Rumińska-Zimny, Alicja Wejdner – Stowarzyszenie Kongres Kobiet “Kobiety, rynek pracy i równość płac”
The text was originally published in Polish at https://liberte.pl/patologie-w-pracy-kobiet-systemowe-bledy-i-codzienne-absurdy/
Written by Anna Maziarska.
Translated by Natalia Banaś
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