Double day for women: Evidence from the literature

Abstract

Paid and unpaid work like household chores repeatedly results in people experiencing ‘Double Day’. With a career, while women become more independent, their energies are also divided between caring for family and giving time to the profession. The focus of the present research article is on women experiencing and managing double days. A systematic review of the literature was carried out. The search was done through the database Google Scholar via many keywords like double day/Married working women/dual responsibility/double shift/household division of labour etc. Only articles from the last 15 years were considered. Studies showed married women being impacted by Double Day. Older children decreased the burden, according to some studies, while lack of instrumental support from spouses or lack of mutual decision-making increased the burden. Some studies were limited by their focus only on women from a particular socioeconomic status, thus limiting generalizability. Factors like the role of emotional support, organizational support, role of extended family and coping strategies need to be evaluated in greater detail to understand the factors that can reduce the burden for married women.