Unpaid chores in childhood linked to gender pay gap, researchers say

According to UNICEF, girls spend 40 per cent more time on household chores than boys

Researchers examined data on childhood poverty in India, Ethiopia, Peru and Vietnam, which included over 12,000 children (PA Archive)

Young women and girls taking part in unpaid housework contributes to the gender pay gap, according to a new study.

Research from the Universities of East Anglia (UEA), Birmingham and Brunel has shown that women’s employment participation in later life is impacted by the amount of chores they take on during childhood.

According to UNICEF, young women and girls taking part in unpaid housework contributes to the gender pay gap, according to a new study. Girls spend 40 per cent more time on housework than boys, and unequal shares contribute and are linked to wider inequalities such as lack of access to water, which can lengthen cleaning times.

Researchers examined data on childhood poverty in India, Ethiopia, Peru and Vietnam, which included over 12,000 children.

Following the lives of the children from the age of eight until 22, the team analysed employment in any paid work and sector, type of employment and earnings. 

The study found that the amount and nature of housework influenced girls’ participation at school, reduced their time to study and therefore worsened their future employment opportunities. 

At age 22, women were more likely to be unemployed than men (70.6 per cent of women compared to 85.7 per cent of men) and had lower wages, as women earned US$1.46 an hour compared to men who earned US$1.77 an hour.

Dr Vasilakos, Associate Professor of Sustainable Business Economics and Public Policy at UEA, said: “Unequal participation in household work starts at a young age. Widening differences over time suggest gendered trajectories.”

Professor Fiona Carmichael, of the Birmingham Business School, said: “Longer hours of unpaid household work that reduces girls’ time for study may therefore limit their future lives by constraining employment opportunities.

“This confirms that the care burden to women of their greater share of household work starts back in childhood.”

Shireen Kanji, Professor of Human Resource Management at Brunel University London, said: “It seems that in comparison to men, women’s employment is likely to be driven to a greater extent by lack of choice or by need, and is characterised by fewer opportunities for well-paid, higher-quality employment.” 

However, the study also found that girls whose parents had higher aspirations for them at age 12 had a better chance of being employed in a high-paying role at age 22.