Women lose out on £126 billion per year due to unpaid work like childcare, study finds

Campaigners say the disparity between gender pay gaps is even greater when extra labour is taken into account, writes Maya Oppenheim

Researchers state women carry out a far higher proportion of unpaid tasks within households which include looking after children, unpaid care work for elderly or sick relatives, cooking and cleaning (PA)

Women lose out on £126bn a year due to doing unpaid labour such as childcare and household chores, according to a study.

The report, published by charity Pro Bono Economics, argues that women carry out a far higher proportion of unpaid tasks within households such as looking after children, care work for elderly or sick relatives, cooking and cleaning – meaning that the official gender pay gap substantially underestimates the scale of the problem.

The unpaid work undertaken by women aged 16-65 was estimated to be worth £4,840 more per year than the unpaid work done by men of the same age bracket.