Bridging Global Divides Webinar Series

This initiative explores urgent challenges facing societies worldwide. Leaders across a range of fields will share their expertise and suggest practical strategies for navigating world problems. Please join us as we focus on forging solutions to pressing transnational concerns and create dialogue to inspire collective action to create a more sustainable future.

  • Article Item
    The Mental Load: How Invisible Domestic Responsibilities Shape Civic Life
    The Mental Load: How Invisible Domestic Responsibilities Shape Civic Life , article

    Could the invisible “mental load” of household and care work help explain persistent gender gaps in politics and the workplace? This talk offers new approaches to measuring cognitive household labor: a novel survey scale developed for parents in the U.S., and an experimental study examining how thinking about the mental load affects engagement in politics and workplace advancement. Women carry the majority of this hidden work, which can crowd out mental space for public and professional life. These findings highlight how inequalities at home shape broader gender gaps in society.