Keeping a household running isn’t just about getting the chores done and making sure the needs of everyone in your family is taken care of, like ticking items off a to-do list. There’s much more that goes on behind the scenes.

Employment data shows when it came to re-entering the workforce after lockdown, women outpaced men in picking up jobs. And yet…

It’s not just making the decisions that’s exhausting, it’s all the work that it takes to get to the decision in the first place.

The COVID pandemic has made the very private issue of the domestic division of labour – the way housework and childcare are divided – a very public issue.

When combined with perfectionism and having people-pleaser tendencies, the impacts on a woman's health, quality of life and career can be disastrous. But there are ways to turn this around.

Help from young grandparents in childcare and housework has cushioned the impact of gender inequalities for many working women. But as they age, the burden of care is likely to return for women.