It's about time: Addressing a hidden gender gap

PhD candidate Sabina Funk shares her thoughts on the theme for this year's International Women's Day: "Accelerate Action."

I have always been drawn to the invisible; the small, subtle currents that influence our behaviours and quietly shape the course of our lives.

As a PhD student, I focus on one such undercurrent: Time. Many today express grappling with a kind of time sickness or “Time Poverty”: the chronic feeling of having too little time to do all that needs to be done; a perpetual battle against the clock.

This Time Poverty, however, manifests differently for men and women. Women tend to have less leisure time, shouldering an often unrecognised “second shift” of household duties or caregiving after work. Men, conversely, tend to fall prey to overwork, enmeshed in a “Cult of Work” that places money and career above all else.

Yet delving further into Time Poverty research, a more nuanced picture begins to emerge. For instance, in a seminal study on the link between Time Poverty and depression, it was found that even when men and women report spending the same number of hours on “household work” over a week, the nature of their tasks was markedly different.

Men typically engaged in leisurely chunks of household work at weekends (fixing a roof, mowing the lawn) that yielded a tangible sense of achievement. In contrast, women’s tasks tended to be fragmented, menial and rushed before or after work (cleaning, tidying here and there) fostering a sense of frustration rather than fulfilment.

Interestingly, the study also found that in the workplace, the negative strain of Time Poverty could be reduced by collegial support—but only for men, not women. It appears men are more likely to seek assistance from colleagues and delegate responsibilities, thereby alleviating the burden on their working hours.

Time Poverty research can thus teach us valuable lessons, some more obvious and direct, others less so. One of these is a need for better underlying structures that ensure a fairer distribution of personal responsibilities between genders. Initiatives like paternity leave and flexible work arrangements (for everyone) are vital steps in this direction.

Another lesson, less conspicuous and perhaps deeper, challenges the validity of what many businesses might see as the “ideal worker”— one without constraints, who works long, hard hours, and whose time belongs not to themselves, but their careers. This is important because without shifts in what a worker feels they need to be, even when supportive policies exist, those who dare to use them often face subtle penalties, making them less likely to be adopted or used in practice.

For women, in particular, time-use research prompts certain questions around habitual behaviours and attitudes that might be taken for granted. For instance, is it just that men have more hours of leisure? Or could it be that men are better able to enjoy idle time compared to women, and why might this be? Moreover, why might men be more inclined to delegate tasks or seek collegial support than women?

As a woman myself, I have found that focusing on time and what I do with it to be immensely valuable not only for my research, but also for my life. It has taught me that sometimes it is better to say no or to ask for help; that sometimes, instead of rushing around trying to solve problems, it is better to simply just be.

It may seem daunting to imagine sweeping societal changes, yet history shows that even the most profound transformations begin with small, almost imperceptible shifts in perspective —those that remind us that the way the world is is not how it needs to be.

We can all, in our own small and subtle ways, make a profound difference. A gentle shift, repeated many times over, can indeed shake the world.