This text is translated with UiO GPT.
"It is mainly women who take on the organizer role for all practical matters in and around the home. This includes everything from planning chores, meals, and vacations, to buying birthday and Christmas gifts, and following up on the family's and children's activities and appointments," says Anna Nordnes Helg?y.
She refers to the organization women perform within the family as "the mental load." In her dissertation, "Gender divisions in labor and politics: Causes and attitudinal consequences," which she defended for her Ph.D. last year, she illustrates how the organizer role women assume impacts their participation in both the labor market and in politics.
Nordnes Helg?y is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo.
Her findings are based on survey data with between 1,000 and 3,500 participants. The material includes both heterosexual and same-sex couples, but the latter category is so small that Nordnes Helg?y cannot make definitive statements about the responsibility dynamics in this group. Her article on the subject is the first quantitative documentation of gender differences in mental work in Norway:?What sustains feminized part-time work at the gender equality frontier? Evidence from a vignette experiment,
The researcher finds it particularly interesting that the burden of responsibility as a family organizer affects other areas and creates gender inequality in societal life, including in employment and political participation.
"All individuals have limited cognitive capacity, and a lot of organizational domestic work can easily occupy the space that could otherwise be used for public engagement," Nordnes Helg?y states, emphasizing that more research needs to be conducted on this topic.
Someone needs to take responsibility for everyday life
Mental housework involves organizing the home and family and can, as Nordnes Helg?y defines it, be seen as separate from physical housework.
"Physical housework is generally thought of as chores like washing up and cooking, while mental housework organizes these tasks. That means cooking (physical) is distinct from planning the family's meals (mental), and washing clothes (physical) from knowing what garments need to be clean for the children's activities in the coming days (mental)," she emphasizes.
According to the researcher, mental work is boundaryless, continuous, and invisible, and it can consume significant cognitive capacity. Furthermore, it is absolutely necessary for any household: someone must take responsibility for everyday matters.
"Why do women take primary responsibility for this mental work?"
"Unfortunately, we know too little about that. Researching gender patterns that are often closely tied to historical and traditional gender roles and societal norms, which take time to break down, is challenging. However, we try to analyze patterns with more data and robust methods over time," the researcher says.
She points out, however, that both her research and other studies on gender equality show that women generally feel more pressure and therefore more stress concerning mental work than men do.
Nordnes Helg?y bases her findings on survey studies of conditions in the UK as well:?Crowded Out: The Influence of Mental Load Priming on Intentions to Participate in Public Life.
"My studies of Norway and the UK cannot be directly compared, but they indicate that countries with a family policy oriented towards equality, like Norway, where we have paternal leave quotas, have higher equality in mental work than countries without such arrangements, like the UK," she says.
Too easy to assume it's enough to be the best in class
Nordnes Helg?y finds it interesting to address Norway and the Nordic countries, as this is usually seen as the front line of gender equality.
"It is fascinating to look at what still causes gender inequality in a region considered to be the furthest ahead regarding equality. Perhaps we have become too complacent, thinking we are 'best in class' and that we have 'come a long way,' after all," the researcher says.
She emphasizes that much has been done for gender equality in Norway, more than in many other countries, which is also clearly reflected in global gender equality indicators:?Gender equality.
"But if we here in Norway are to continue being a pioneer in gender equality, we must critically evaluate standards relevant in our context and strive towards them. We must particularly address mental work," she says.
Contributing to the stagnation of gender equality
The researcher believes there is good reason to think that gender inequality in mental housework contributes to a stagnation of equality in general since it can affect public participation in both the labor market and politics.
"Women lose out because they take the chief as organizer at home. This can affect their public participation, which is the arena where one gains economic independence and welfare, social status, and influence. Men also lose out due to the inequality. They become less involved at home, which includes not just 'boring' tasks but also very meaningful activities such as childcare and family time," says Nordnes Helg?y.
Historical link between the private and the public
She emphasizes that the connection between the public and private spheres is a consistent theme in the women's movement: dynamics and inequalities at home influence what happens in the public sphere.
"There is a clear historical link between the private and the public. Today, that connection has become more complex and nuanced – but it is still there," Nordnes Helg?y states.
"International Women's Day is on March 8. What do you think should be done to address gender inequalities in Norway, and why is it important?"
"I think it is wise to scrutinize ourselves against increasingly higher standards for equality. There are still pay differences between genders in Norway, and there is systematic behavioral inequality in the labor market, with men and women choosing different occupations with different conditions and working hours. And women are still taking the main responsibility at home. That is not good enough, even if others are behind us. Much more research is needed to find out how we can change this," says Anna Nordnes Helg?y.