Armenian Women Carry Up to Two Full-Time Jobs Between Work and Home
Women in Armenia spend four to five times more hours than men on unpaid household and caregiving work, a gap researchers say is holding back careers, productivity and the country’s economy.
The findings come from a study conducted by Ameria for the Armenian office of the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA.
On average, women spend 15.3 hours a week cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and handling other household tasks. They devote another 8.6 hours to caring for children, older relatives and other family members.
The burden is heaviest for women ages 30 to 35, who spend between 44 and 49 hours a week on unpaid domestic and care work, according to Tigran Jrbashyan, head of management consulting at Ameria.
“This is unpaid labor. No one pays for it. Yet by doing this work, women create value,” Jrbashyan said. “That is extremely important and deserves recognition.”
Men, by comparison, spend an average of 3.6 hours a week on household chores and 2.2 hours on family care. The highest figures among men were recorded in the 30-to-40 age group, where unpaid work ranged from eight to 11 hours a week.
The study found that unpaid responsibilities make up 78% of women’s total workload. Only 22% of the work they perform is compensated through paid employment.
For men, the pattern is almost the reverse. Unpaid work accounts for about 11% of their workload, while paid labor makes up the remaining 89%.
Lusine Sargsyan, head of UNFPA’s Yerevan office, said the imbalance often forces women to choose between building a career and starting or raising a family.
“We need to create conditions where women no longer have to choose one or the other,” Sargsyan said. “They should be able to have both.”
She warned that the issue extends beyond individual households. Keeping women out of the workforce or limiting their career growth could deepen Armenia’s demographic and economic challenges.
Sargsyan pointed to the need for more nurseries, kindergartens and childcare centers, particularly for younger children. She also called for workplaces to adopt policies that better reflect the realities of family life.
Armenia has already introduced some measures aimed at easing the pressure on working parents. Remote work is available with an employer’s approval, and a recently adopted “parental hour” policy allows parents of children under 12 to arrive later or leave work earlier.
Parents with one or two children may shorten their workday by 30 minutes. Those with three or more children are entitled to a one-hour reduction.
Researchers say those steps are welcome but insufficient.
Women who spend as many as 49 hours a week on household and care work may also be working a standard 40-hour job, leaving them with the equivalent of two full-time workloads.
Sargsyan said that pressure affects women’s health, workplace performance and family life. It also leaves many with little time for rest or personal development.
“Employers need to recognize that their employees have families,” she said. “Women should not live with a constant sense of guilt.”
That guilt, she said, often cuts both ways: women may feel they are not spending enough time with their families while also worrying about unfinished work.
Sargsyan and Jrbashyan said Armenia risks losing valuable talent if it fails to remove barriers facing women in the labor market. Many women are highly educated and productive, they said, but remain unable to fully use their skills because of the unequal burden at home.
The researchers stressed that they are not arguing that every woman should enter formal employment or that household work must always be paid.
Their central point is that women should be able to decide how to organize their lives without being forced into a choice by a lack of childcare, inflexible workplaces or unequal family responsibilities.
Giving women that freedom, they said, would strengthen businesses, support economic growth and create healthier conditions for families across Armenia.
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Great insights, this was a thoughtful and eye-opening read that highlights an important reality many women face every day. Thanks for sharing this valuable perspective and raising awareness on such a meaningful topic. Drywall and Sheetrock Contractors