Except in North America and Australia, women everywhere work longer hours on the job than men, reports Populi, the magazine of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). The greatest gap exists in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, where women in the labor force, on the average, work some 12 hours per week more than men. “In many developing countries,” notes the magazine, “women are now working 60-90 hours a week just to try to maintain their meagre living standards of a decade ago.” Meanwhile, in the industrialized world, men’s share in household work is increasing. “But,” explains Populi, this increase “is not due to a more equal division of routine cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Rather, men are taking longer to do such tasks as shopping.”
Women or Men—Who Work Longer?
Except in North America and Australia, women everywhere work longer hours on the job than men, reports Populi, the magazine of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). The greatest gap exists in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, where women in the labor force, on the average, work some 12 hours per week more than men. “In many developing countries,” notes the magazine, “women are now working 60-90 hours a week just to try to maintain their meagre living standards of a decade ago.” Meanwhile, in the industrialized world, men’s share in household work is increasing. “But,” explains Populi, this increase “is not due to a more equal division of routine cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Rather, men are taking longer to do such tasks as shopping.”