The Profound Influence of Unpaid Work on Women’s Lives: An Overview and Future Directions

Abstract

The myriad hours and considerable effort expended by women in unpaid labor at home can have profound effects on their mental, physical, relational, vocational, and economic health. To date, many vocational psychologists have neglected to focus on unpaid work in their research or highlight unpaid work in their theories. Unpaid work in women’s lives is most deserving of increased scholarly attention. Thus, the purposes of this article are to provide an overview of theory and research related to unpaid work, highlight three types of unpaid work, describe the effects of unpaid work on women’s lives, and provide recommendations for future research and practice in vocational psychology to advance understanding regarding unpaid work in women’s lives.