of all unpaid care hours globally are performed by women.
Evidence & Resources
Life beyond work
Remaining productive at work can carry a cost somewhere else.
Women may preserve employment by reducing activity, rest, caring capacity, relationships or social participation outside work. A work-only measure can therefore underestimate the true burden.
Health, healthcare and work are connected.
Global evidence snapshot
Scale, context and equity matter.
of unpaid care work are performed every day across the countries in the ILO analysis.
reported unpaid care as the reason they were outside the labour force.
What the evidence says
Start with what is established.
01
The health evidence
Health affects wellbeing across paid work, unpaid work, family life and community participation.
02
The wider context
Income loss and healthcare costs can alter choices about care and recovery.
03
What matters
Quality of life and mental wellbeing are legitimate outcomes alongside productivity.
Working-life lens
The impact can appear in more than absence.
01
Capacity and participation
Energy used to sustain work may leave little capacity for home or recovery.
02
Systems and access
Caring and household responsibilities can intensify time pressure.
03
Trust and disclosure
Flexible work can help, but may also shift hidden costs into personal time.
From evidence to practice
Support begins with a respectful, individual response.
01
Listen first
Avoid assuming that attendance proves an adjustment is unnecessary.
02
Design practical support
Review workload, recovery time and sustainability—not only immediate output.
03
Protect dignity
Recognise caring and financial context without requiring personal disclosure.
Women Working Well’s research purpose
What Women Working Well is seeking to understand.
Women Working Well exists to investigate the questions that remain unseen or unanswered: what is missing from the evidence, whose experiences are under-represented, and how women’s health, healthcare, working life and life beyond work connect. These topic-specific priorities help shape the Global Women and Work Study.
01
What is missing
Unpaid work and household impacts are routinely omitted from economic analysis.
02
Who is under-represented
Research needs measures of energy, relationships, caring and social participation.
03
What research should connect
Intersectional differences in resources and support require more attention.
Sources and further reading
Global evidence and authoritative guidance.
These sources support the key statements on this page. Statistics are contextual, time-bound and should be read with their source definitions. Evidence from one country, occupation or health condition should not automatically be generalised to all women.
World Health Organization — Menstrual health →World Health Organization — Menopause →Cancer Australia — Practical issues after breast cancer →ILO — Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work →
Important: This page provides general evidence and workplace information. It is not medical, legal or employment advice and does not replace individual clinical care or professional advice.
Keep exploring
See the connected evidence picture.
Return to the Evidence & Resources Hub or explore the Global Women and Work Study.
Evidence & Resources →