Women's work is a field of labour assumed to be solely the realm of women and associated with specific stereotypical jobs considered as uniquely feminine or domestic duties throughout history. It is most commonly used in reference to the unpaid labor typically performed by that of a mother or wife to upkeep the home and children. Women's work is generally unpaid or paid less than "men's work" and is not as highly valued as "men's work". Much of women's work is not included in official statistics on labour, making much of the work that women typically do virtually invisible. For example, throughout much of the 20th century, the women working on a family farm, no matter how much work they did, would be counted in, for example, the US census as being unemployed, whereas the men doing the same or even less work were counted as being employed as farmers. Similarly, many acts of creativity, such as tapestry, quilting, sewing, and weaving, which are often performed by women, have been traditionally undervalued by the mainstream art world, classified as women's work and thus, until recently, rarely included in art exhibitions, galleries or museums. In contrast to women's work, "men's work" involves the usage of physical strength or work outdoors, also considered macro power which is defined as public sphere power; mechanical, electrical or electronic knowledge and skill; employment ("bread-winning", "bringing home the bacon"); most dealings with money; or higher reasoning to perform tasks. "Men's work" is higher paid and is viewed to have greater value. Among some people, men's work is considered to be the opposite of "women's work" and thus does not include activities within the home or with children, though "men's work" traditionally includes work that involves both (such as repairing appliances and disciplining children).
Types There are several types of work that are considered women's work; they involve child care, housework, and occupations such as nursing that have been dominated by women in recent decades.
Child care The term "women's work" may indicate a role with children as defined by nature in that only women are biologically capable of performing them: pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. It may also refer to professions that involve these functions: midwife and wet nurse. "Women's work" may also refer to roles in raising children, particularly within the home: diaper changing and related hygiene, toilet training, bathing, clothing, feeding, monitoring, and education with regard to personal care.
Women-dominated industries
Women's work may also refer to professions that include childcare such as governess, nanny, day care worker, au pair, or professional positions such as teacher (especially teaching children) and nurse.
House work and home production "Women's work" may also refer to roles related to housekeeping, such as cooking, sewing, ironing, and cleaning. It may also refer to professions that include these functions, such as maid and cook. Though much of "women's work" is indoors, some is outdoors, such as fetching water, grocery shopping or food foraging, and gardening. Until the Industrial Revolution, society was primarily agrarian and women were just as involved in working on farms as men. A proverbial couplet runs: "Man may work from sun to sun, But woman's work is never done". Related concepts include gender roles, wage labour and employment, female workforce, and women's rights (cf. gender roles and feminism). The term may be pejorative, because historical advertisements have promoted the misrepresentation of women as only house maids. Many working women juggle a 'double-day shift,' which includes balancing a full-time job with full-time household responsibilities, a convention still prevalent in modern workplaces. The labor undertaken by women within the household is frequently overlooked and undervalued.
Effects of women's work on women and girls Women's work and therefore women themselves can be "rendered invisible" in situations in which women's work is a supportive role to "men's work". For example, in peace negotiations, terms and language used may refer to 'combatants' to indicate the army in question. This use of language fails to recognize the supportive roles that women fill as contracted people of the army such as army cooks. In places where water needs to be collected and transported by hand and brought back to the household, women are found to do a large percentage of this chore. For example, In Sub-Saharan Africa, women make up 62% of the number of people who are responsible for water collection and transportation. Girls make up another 9% of those who fulfill water collection and transportation responsibilities. Men contribute 23% to water collection and transportation with boys responsible for 6% of the chore. The gender distribution of water collection and transportation greater impacts women and girls by contributing to "Time Poverty". This makes it more difficult for them to find the time to participate in activities such as "schooling, paid work...or leisure".
Women in men's work Women who are in jobs or positions that are predominantly viewed as "men's work" may masculinize themselves in order to be viewed as rightly in that job or position. For example, it was found that "Hillary Clinton's language became more masculinized the higher she climbed the political ladder".
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