Unpaid Care Work Statistics (2026)
Unpaid care work—including childcare, eldercare, cooking, cleaning, and household management—takes place outside market transactions and is largely omitted from national GDP accounts.
Data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) documents the macroeconomic scale: worldwide, 708 million women are outside the labor force due to unpaid care responsibilities, compared with 40 million men. Caregiving responsibilities represent the primary stated barrier to women's formal employment globally.
Across OECD member nations, women perform nearly twice as much unpaid labor as men each day. When paid and unpaid hours are combined, women work an average of 24 minutes more per day than men—amounting to roughly 12 additional full workdays per year. This page compiles primary data from the ILO, OECD, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and national statistical agencies across the Americas, Europe, and South Asia.
Interactive resource: Stop letting invisible household care turn into continuous friction. Establish shared ownership with HerWay agreements.
OpenKey statistics
- Globally, 708 million women are outside the labor force due to unpaid care responsibilities, compared to 40 million men (ILO 2024/2025).
- Women perform 76.2% of total hours of unpaid care work globally, dedicating 3.2 times more hours to unpaid care than men.
- In OECD countries, women spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on unpaid work, compared to 2.3 hours for men.
- Combining paid and unpaid work, women in OECD countries work an average of 24 minutes more per day than men.
- In the United States, employed women perform 2.38 hours per day of domestic activities, compared to 1.58 hours for employed men (BLS ATUS 2025/2026).
- In India, official time-use data (MoSPI) shows women spend 299 minutes (5.0 hours) per day on unpaid domestic and care services, versus 97 minutes (1.6 hours) for men.
- In Pakistan, government and ILO data identify 117.4 million people engaged in unpaid care, including 66.7 million women; 60% of women spend over 15 hours weekly on domestic tasks compared to 7% of men.
- 38.2 million Americans provide unpaid eldercare to family members annually, with women providing over 60% of high-intensity daily care hours (BLS).
- 25% of U.S. adults (and 54% of adults aged 40–49) care for both children and aging parents concurrently (Pew Research Center).
- If valued at minimum wage, global unpaid care work performed by women represents an estimated $11 trillion annually, or roughly 9% of global GDP.
Global Macro Impact: 708 Million Women Excluded from the Labor Force
Care responsibilities represent the primary structural determinant of female labor force participation rates worldwide.
708 million women worldwide are outside the labor force due to unpaid care duties.
The ILO global dataset (covering 125+ nations) found that 748 million working-age people are out of the labor force due to family care duties. Women comprise 95% of this group (708 million women vs. 40 million men).
Women perform 76.2% of all unpaid care work globally — over 3.2 times that of men.
Across 64 analyzed countries representing two-thirds of the world's working-age population, 16.4 billion hours are spent on unpaid care work every day. Women perform 12.5 billion of those hours.
OECD Economies: The 24-Minute Daily Work Surplus and Time Deficits
In industrialized economies with high female employment rates, women carry a net daily work surplus when combining paid and unpaid hours.
Women in OECD countries perform 4.5 hours of unpaid work per day vs. 2.3 hours for men.
Harmonized national time diaries across 38 OECD member nations show women spend nearly double the time men spend on unpaid food preparation, cleaning, laundry, and dependent care.
When combining paid and unpaid labor, women work 24 minutes more per day than men.
Men's higher average paid work hours do not fully offset women's unpaid domestic labor. Across the OECD, women average 481 total work minutes per day compared to 457 minutes for men, creating an annual gap of approximately 12 eight-hour workdays.
National Comparisons: United States, India, and Pakistan
The domestic division of labor varies by national childcare infrastructure and labor policies, but shows gender gaps across all surveyed countries.
Employed U.S. women average 2.38 hours/day on domestic tasks vs. 1.58 hours for men.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the domestic labor gap persists among dual-earner couples where both partners work full-time.
In India, women spend 299 minutes/day on unpaid care compared to 97 minutes for men.
The national Time Use in India Survey (MoSPI) of 138,799 households recorded that women spend 3.1 times more time on unpaid domestic work and caregiving than men.
60% of Pakistani women spend over 15 hours/week on domestic work vs. 7% of men.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and ILO Labour Force Survey found 117.4 million people engaged in unpaid domestic and care work, of whom 66.7 million are women.
The Caregiving Span: Eldercare and the Sandwich Generation
Unpaid family care includes eldercare alongside childcare, particularly among adults in their 40s.
38.2 million Americans provide unpaid eldercare annually, with women carrying primary intensive care.
BLS time-use surveys show that 16% of the U.S. civilian population provides unpaid care to an aging family member. Women perform the majority of personal care tasks, including bathing, dressing, and medical coordination.
54% of U.S. adults aged 40–49 care for children and aging parents concurrently.
Pew Research Center demographic data indicates that over half of Americans in their 40s have a living parent aged 65 or older while also raising a minor child or supporting a grown child.
Charts
Population Outside Global Labor Force Due to Care Responsibilities (Millions)
International Labour Organization (ILO) Global Brief, 2024/2025 dataset across 125 countries.
Average Daily Unpaid Care & Domestic Work by Gender (Hours/Day)
Official national time-use surveys: MoSPI (India), OECD Gender Portal, and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (ATUS 2025/2026).
Expert quotes
“Care responsibilities are the primary barrier preventing women from entering and advancing in the labor market. No country can achieve genuine gender equality or reach its full economic potential while 708 million women remain sidelined by unpaid care.”
“The gender pay gap is largely a family gap. It widens not when women enter the workforce, but when children arrive and unpaid care responsibilities demand temporal flexibility that corporate structures heavily penalize.”
Research findings compared
Different studies use different samples and methods, which is why headline numbers vary. This table lines up the studies referenced on this page side by side.
| Study | Source tier | Year | Sample | Country | Key finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Labour Organization (ILO) | Tier A | 2024 | Global labor dataset (125+ nations) | Global | 708 million women vs. 40 million men outside labor force due to unpaid care; women perform 76.2% of all care work. |
| OECD Gender Data Portal | Tier A | 2024 | Harmonized national time-use surveys | OECD (38 countries) | Women average 4.5 hours/day unpaid work vs. 2.3 for men; women work 24 minutes more total per day. |
| Bureau of Labor Statistics (ATUS) | Tier A | 2026 | Nationally representative time diaries | United States | Employed women perform 2.38 hours/day domestic activities vs. 1.58 hours for employed men (48-minute daily gap). |
| Ministry of Statistics (MoSPI) | Tier A | 2024 | 138,799 households | India | Women spend 299 minutes/day on unpaid care/domestic services vs. 97 minutes for men (3.1x ratio). |
| Pakistan Bureau of Statistics & ILO | Tier A | 2025 | National Labour Force Survey | Pakistan | 117.4 million people in unpaid care (66.7m women); 60% of women spend >15 hrs/week vs. <7% of men. |
| Pew Research Center | Tier A | 2026 | 5,098 U.S. adults | United States | 25% of all adults and 54% of adults aged 40–49 are caring for both an aging parent and a child. |
How we built this page
- Time-use figures are sourced from national statistical agencies using 24-hour time diaries.
- Time-use diaries record chronological activities in 10-to-15 minute intervals across a 24-hour period, avoiding retrospective estimation bias.
- Unpaid care work is categorized under the System of National Accounts (SNA) satellite accounts into: (1) Direct personal care of children, elderly, and ill dependents; and (2) Indirect care (domestic services such as meal preparation, laundry, cleaning, and household logistics required to sustain family members).
- All demographic comparisons between men and women reflect harmonized national populations of working-age adults (ages 15+ or 18+ depending on jurisdiction).
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about global economics & care work.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 708 million women worldwide are outside the labor force due to unpaid care responsibilities, compared with 40 million men. Women account for 95% of the 748 million people globally excluded from employment by care demands.
Sources cited on this page
- [1]International Labour Organization (ILO). The Impact of Care Responsibilities on Women's Labour Force Participation (2024). Sample: Global labor-force dataset covering 125+ nations. Global (125 countries). View source
- [2]Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD Time Use Database & Gender Data Portal (2024). Sample: Harmonized national time-use surveys across 38 member countries. OECD Member Countries (38 nations). View source
- [3]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. American Time Use Survey — 2025 Results (2026). Sample: Nationally representative time-diary sample. United States. View source
- [4]Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI, India). Time Use in India Survey (TUS) Annual Report (2024). Sample: 138,799 households nationwide. India. View source
- [5]Pakistan Bureau of Statistics & ILO. Labour Force Survey 2024–25 & Unpaid Care Economy Assessment (2025). Sample: Nationally representative household sample across all provinces. Pakistan. View source
- [6]Pew Research Center. How Americans Care for Aging Parents and Children: The Sandwich Generation (2026). Sample: 5,098 U.S. adults. United States. View source
Related reading
School callbacks, sick-day logistics, and cognitive load: who carries default parenting responsibilities.
Clinical parental burnout rates (5–9%) vs. self-reported overload (71–93%), sleep debt, and career friction.
Who carries the planning and remembering — by gender, marriage, and country.
Minutes per day on chores, by gender and by country, from government time-use data.
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