Imagine this: A person takes up a job in a new workspace. The person has all the assigned duties and responsibilities as the other employees in the office. The assigned work takes up several hours in a day, in front of the computer and also includes meeting other people. However, this person, in addition to the everyday duties, is also asked to cater to many whims and fancies of the bosses or the co-workers. Fetching that favourite coffee from the quaint cafe, organising office parties, and even playing peacemaker when two co-workers are at loggerhead. However, all these extra responsibilities are not compensated with additional pay.
When you visualised this scenario, did you see this person as a woman? Well, it is not far from the truth, the only change being the woman, and especially woman of colour, is expected to do all this and more when it comes to her own household. The latest Women in the Workplace report (September 2021), from McKinsey, in partnership with Lean In states that eighteen months into the pandemic, women in corporate America were more burnt out than ever, considerably more so than men. While women of colour are working towards getting more education and climbing up the corporate ladder, is the notion of the ‘superwoman’ actually hindering their growth? The answer is a resounding yes.
In 2020, a Gallup report showed us the naked truth – women were still handling the major household tasks in the US. The study, based on heterosexual couples who were living together or were married, showed us how household chores were still widely divided by gender. While investments, car maintenance and yard work fell into the domain of the ‘male’ responsibilities, women dealt with laundry, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping and making decisions about furniture and decorations among many others. While laundry (58%) led the way for women’s chores after decorations (62%), cleaning and cooking were not far behind, with 37% and 32% respectively responding that the chores were equally divided. Even in 2020, as women held more jobs than men and women earned a higher education than the male counterparts, this gap in the division of household chores, serves as a rude reminder of why women may still be lagging behind men when it comes to climbing the ladder of success.
Among women of colour, the numbers were higher, a feat that can be credited to the perennial expectation from women taking on the onus of the family’s well-being, along with managing their own work or whatever it is that they like to do. While this mentality is slowly changing and we see more men coming forward to take on household responsibilities, we still have a long way to go. This mindset is so prevalent that we are surrounded by it, even in mainstream media. There’s a formula for Women’s Day and Mother’s Day that most brands follow – show a woman doing it all with a smile on her face and a few words of praise or encouragement. Once in a while, they will mix things up with someone finally offering to do some work in the household that they too live in or maybe give her a break from her chores. While the intent is noble, the end result is far from ideal.
When we all wish for a work-life balance, we wish for some time to spend on ourselves or the things we love. However, looking at these numbers, one may think that when women of colour wish for work-life balance, they may well be asking for time for their household chores. While we are trying to work towards a more efficient work-life, where productivity or success is not measured in hours, we are taking into account additional skills and education that the workforce can acquire during their employment. The pandemic and work-from-home has increased opportunities for learning by cutting down on commute and other obligatory meetings. However, if this time is now dedicated towards maintaining a house or raising a family, with the woman of colour as the primary caregiver, where does it lead her career?
Although not all hope is lost, we must do better to support, empower and encourage these women to achieve their full potential in what they do. While the numbers have improved from yesteryears, where the primary caregiver of the household was the woman, we still have an uphill task from here on, which includes educating and enlightening people about the same and encouraging them to do more. Rather than patting her on the back and putting on the cape of the ‘superwoman’ who does it all, it may well be time to grab that cape and start wiping down some counters.
Bodhirupa Raha is a columnist of this article. This article represents the views of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the views of DiWo.