Inefficient? Don’t make me laugh (I don’t have time)
If you haven’t already discovered the joy of statistics, I highly recommend you read “How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers” by Tim Harford. One of his best pieces of advice is that when you are reading an article which includes statistics, first observe how it makes you feel.
Well, recently I read an article titled “Women and lower-paid are ‘less productive working at home’”, and I suspect even those three houses down had a pretty good idea how I felt.
Why so cross? Well, to summarise the actual content of the article, those who were employed in sectors where working from home is difficult, reported that they were less productive. On average. These may happen to be sectors where women and lower income workers are more prevalent. But it does not follow, despite the headline, that women are less ‘productive’ working from home.
Women are, however, more likely to have taken on greater responsibility for childcare during school closures, and are a third more likely to work in retail, customer services, leisure and travel roles. All areas significantly hit by the ongoing restrictions. Women have been more likely to be furloughed, and more likely to work part-time, and so be more at risk of redundancy.
The article also went on to state that those in the ‘right’ occupations report higher productivities than previously.
I am one of the lucky ones. I have a supportive boss, who lets me flex my hours. I have a supportive partner, who has shared childcare and some of the household chores (single parents everywhere, I salute you and do not know how you manage). I was already familiar with the statistics, so knowing all of this, why did I let it get me so cross?
Well, I think guilt plays a role here. Although I know (logically) that I have not fallen behind with work commitments, I can’t help but feel slightly uneasy about planning meetings around taking kids to and from school.
Even though I still get up early (recent school closures meaning I have returned to the 5am starts), I feel guilty if I am not at my desk during ‘normal’ working hours. I know this is ridiculous. I would scold my team for feeling this way, but I also know that many, many years of conditioning have led to this.
Women are told we need to put in the hours and go the extra mile. Yet we are also told we should be helpful, supportive, caring, nurturing… the list goes on. Women working from home are hence doing all this while also taking care of children and elderly parents, doing home schooling, cleaning, cooking and shopping.
At the start of lockdown, those with children spent an average of 35% more time providing childcare, which included helping with homework. When the schools closed, I am sure I was not alone in feeling that my teaching ability was also now under scrutiny. I downloaded screeds of educational worksheets and apps, worried that the kids might get bored or fall behind their peers or that I might be seen to be ‘prioritising work over the wellbeing of my children’ (the horror!).
I even had a timetable. Oh, how I laugh in hindsight…
My husband, on the other hand, seemed to feel no such pressure and took a different approach. He just played games with the kids before he started work, happily looking out the Scrabble and Monopoly, oblivious to my glowers from behind the pile of marking and ‘fun crafts’.
It turns out that men in general increased their childcare time by 58%, but their daily total was still short of that provided by women.[1]
Cleaning has also increased of course, as we are spending so much more time in our homes, but at least my partner does his share of that. Unfortunately, that is not the norm, with the increased housework often falling upon women, as does caring for and checking in on elderly relatives and family[2]. Women are more likely to be doing the cooking, and if you do that, you end up being the one organising the shopping. And composting the increased food waste. And growing veg…
So, if I am not doing any less work, yet am doing more at home, where has the extra time come from? Lockdown has certainly led to a reduction in travelling time, with the average adult freeing up an hour a day while not commuting. But research also suggests that women simply get more work done than men in the same amount of time, by sacrificing time spent on themselves[3].
So, although I still feel guilt for not doing enough, in reality I am having to be more efficient than ever before. Due to the change in work practices, I am actually doing more at home for my family, the local community and the environment whilst also working full time.
But this workload isn’t sustainable longer term. Men and women need to have more equal shares of the work we do to support our children, maintain the household and both protect and engage with our natural environment if we are to build a more just and resilient world. It is in the interests of not only women and girls but also boys and men. Women have been the hardest hit by this pandemic, but they will also be the backbone of recovery in communities. And the more we recognise this, the more efficient our response will be.
Women are unfortunately also less likely to spend money on training and skills development, fearing that the additional costs of childcare or the pressure it will place on their partner’s work will outweigh the benefit to the household. This needs to be recognised and addressed, as the Women in Agriculture Taskforce recommended. That is why I am delighted that Lantra is helping to roll out the Women in Agriculture Practical Training fund, supporting women to develop their skills and at the same time increasing the diversity of those working within the sector.
I may not be the target audience for this fund, but as I prepare yet another folder of activities for the kids, at the same time I am creating a list for 2021 of the things I am going to do for myself. Oo, maybe I should create some kind of timetable…