Unpaid labor

'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.' Wait, Is It?

Women take on almost all of the additional responsibilities during the holidays. Our cartoonist looks at the data.

Aubrey Hirsch

Dec 5, 2024 — 1 min read

"On an average day, women already face the 'double shift' of balancing work and domestic labor"

"The holidays intensify these imbalances, for example women are more likely to do all or most of the cooking and cleaning."

"Rising social media use has added to the pressure to create picture-perfect holidays."

"Seasonal celebrations add a third job, 'magic making', to our already full plates."

During the holidays women are feel more stress from lack of money, lack of time, and pressure related to exchanging gifts.

A 2022 meta-analysis of 19 studies confirmed persistent inequalities in the division of unpaid work among men and women.

As we share in the magic together this year, let's make sure we're sharing the workload, too.

Aubrey Hirsch writes GRAPHIC RAGE on Substack. Her comics have appeared in TIME, Vox, The Washington Post and elsewhere.

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