The Visible Costs of Invisible Labor
For only $180, get a full year of unrestricted access to APA's extensive learning library. Kickstart your journey by subscribing to Passport, then take the next step by enrolling in the courses that pique your interest.
Certification Maintenance
Course Details
This session explores "invisible work," a major challenge in women's lives and careers. Invisible work is the unpaid labor performed by women at home and in the workplace and is primarily a consequence of gender or societal norms designating certain tasks as "women's work."
It includes things like laundry, coordinating carpools, planning office events, managing internship programs, implementing DEI programs, helping with homework, mediating interoffice conflict, and more. While many aspects of women's lives and careers have improved with evolving norms and expectations, the invisible work burden is growing, considerably exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the usual burden of paid and unpaid labor, women were also expected to be teachers and multigenerational care providers while working from home. We are only now beginning to understand the full mental, physical, professional, and emotional impacts of the last three years on women in planning.
This course explores the realities and impacts of invisible work through two-way discussions with panelists representing diverse career stages, personal situations, and professional planning roles. It also creates space for collaborative problem-solving, helping women avoid burnout, ensure fair compensation, and care for their minds and bodies.
Learning Outcomes
- Communicate the concepts of "invisible work" and "invisible labor"
- Recognize the impacts of "mental load" and "invisible work" on individuals, communities, organizations, and society.
- Describe the function of gender roles and norms in perpetuating expectations of women's unpaid labor