Lightening the Mental Load That Holds Women Back

If you ask working women with families why they step off the leadership track, it’s often not just because of what happens at the office. Rather, it’s because of the combined effect of their daytime job together with their second job of managing the incessant responsibilities of household and family care: what needs to be done, who needs to be where, how to make it all happen at once. This home management load is constant, under-recognised, unpaid—and it falls disproportionately on women, limiting their ability to focus on their careers and rise into leadership roles.

In response, some companies may argue that what happens in employees’ homes is not their concern. Given the way that work and home lives are intertwined, however, that mindset is both shortsighted and outdated. If companies are serious about getting more women into the ranks of leadership, they need to address the burden of domestic responsibility and its contribution to the mental load that women carry.

Research from The Boston Consultancy Group points to specific steps that companies and individuals—both men and women—can take. Read more here.

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