Invisible Load: Why We Need To Revalue Unpaid Motherhood

Motherhood is a full-time job—but for working mothers and entrepreneurs, it’s a double shift. Between career demands, household responsibilities, and the mental load of keeping everything running, many women are stretched to their limits. Society praises "having it all," but the reality is an exhausting, often invisible, burden of unpaid labour. It’s time to recognise the true cost of this imbalance and push for systemic changes that support working mothers and entrepreneur moms.

The Invisible Load: Unpaid Labour That Fuels the Economy

Shruti Swaroop, founder of Embrace Consulting, & co-founder of International Inclusion Alliance, said that revaluing unpaid motherhood requires more than mere acknowledgement. Structural change such as paying caregivers, overall childcare policy, and distributive domestic care is needed. Countries like Sweden and Canada have implemented compensation for unpaid caregivers, setting a standard for recognising motherhood as valuable labour.

“Motherhood has been romanticised but rarely appreciated for the relentless, unpaid labour it entails. The invisible load - mothers' mental, emotional, and physical labour, day in and day out - is unseen though its effect lands on families and society. From household management to care work, a variety of tasks are being performed by mothers without compensation that reinforce structural gender inequality,” Swaroop said.

To see the invisible weight isn't only a question of justice - it's one of economic citizenship and pushing back against outdated gender assumptions. It's time to redefine motherhood as essential work, deserving of respect, support, and tangible recognition.

Dr Ridhima Khamsera, clinical dietitian, said, “Ever watched a concerned mother ask, 'Where are your shoes? Are you studying? Have you cleaned your room? Did you eat?' numerous times to her child? Welcome to motherhood's invisible load—the mental gymnastics that would qualify as an Olympic sport if anyone bothered to notice."

Dr Khamsera added that studies show mothers perform an average of 37 hours of invisible labour weekly—planning, organising, and worrying—all completely off the economic radar. "That's nearly a full-time job that doesn't exist on paper."

Many mothers confess something rarely spoken aloud: "I feel like I'm failing at a job I never applied for, with standards I didn't create."

That's the insidious nature of this burden—it's inherited, unacknowledged, and somehow still mandatory.

What's truly mind-boggling is the economic valuation. If paid at market rates, a mother's annual unpaid work would beat a corporate employee. Yet this wealth creation remains invisible in GDP calculations and policy discussions.

The mental toll? Women are twice as likely to experience burnout not from their paid work, but from this shadow shift that never clocks out.

Mothers don't need more advice on "balancing it all." Society needs a fundamental revaluation of what constitutes work. When a mother remembers vaccination schedules, monitors emotional development, and coordinates the invisible infrastructure of family life, she's not just "being Mom"—she's performing essential labour that sustains our entire economy.

Time to Lift the Invisible Burden

Motherhood's unpaid labour is not inevitable—it's systemic neglect. Working mothers need more than praise; they deserve policies that value their essential work: paid leave, affordable childcare, and equal domestic responsibility. Countries like Sweden prove that change is possible. Employers, policymakers, and families must act now to redistribute this invisible load. The economy thrives when mothers thrive. It's time to stop calling it "women's work" and start recognising it as society's foundation. Real progress begins when we compensate, support, and fairly share the weight of caregiving.