The system gives men 80% and women 20%, even though women do 76% of the world’s unpaid work.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.”
— Proverbs 31:8 (NLT)
It’s the oldest illusion in the book: the system isn’t broken, it’s “just how things are.” But when you look at the data, the balance sheet of modern life reads like a bad joke. The world hands men 80%—of wealth, leadership, recognition, and comfort—while women carry the remaining 20% and do 76% of the unpaid work that keeps everything functioning. That’s not equality; that’s a scam wrapped in rhetoric and sold as stability.
The dominant narrative is that progress has been made. The posters say empowered, the panels say inclusive, and the policies say equity. But the numbers haven’t moved in half a century. According to the UN and World Economic Forum, women globally earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, own less than 20% of land, and occupy less than a third of decision-making positions. In health, housing, and even happiness indexes, the curve leans predictably masculine. The math doesn’t lie—but somehow, society still pretends it’s complex.
The truth? It’s not complex. It’s designed. The so-called invisible labour gap is a $10.8 trillion-dollar annual subsidy to the global economy—performed mostly by women, unpaid, uncounted, and unseen. Cooking, cleaning, caregiving, and community work: the unpaid backbone of productivity. Yet, when you ask why the system remains skewed, you’ll hear a familiar chorus—culture, tradition, faith, timing, reform in progress. Translation: rhetoric.
From the Creative Women’s Association lens, we call it what it is: hauling. The endless emotional, physical, and creative load-bearing that women do every day while the system nods approvingly. We aren’t just participating in the economy; we are the economy. But while men are applauded for “providing,” women are expected to serve, to stretch, to make do. We are the global shock absorbers of economic instability and emotional labour—and yet the policies written to “empower” us still read like permission slips.
So why, after decades of reports and movements, does the needle barely move? Because reform is cosmetic when control is structural. The 80/20 split isn’t a glitch—it’s the operating system. It’s the way inheritance laws, tax codes, and corporate hierarchies were built. It’s why every diversity board still reports to a man. It’s why women in leadership are framed as exceptions instead of expectations. It’s why the “flexible” jobs that allow mothers to survive are the least paid and least secure.
And yet, we’re told to be grateful. For the crumbs of progress. For the right to “lean in.” For token visibility. For International Women’s Day. As if equality were a photo op, not a measurable outcome. As if saying “we value women” absolved a system of actually doing it.
The reframe begins here: stop asking women to adapt. Start redesigning the system. The world doesn’t need another campaign or hashtag—it needs redistribution. Power, pay, and presence must move from rhetoric to structure. Because if 76% of the world’s unseen labour suddenly stopped, everything—every government, corporation, and household—would collapse in days. That’s leverage. That’s the truth we’ve been taught to understate.
Because if it ain’t broke, then why are women still hauling it? If this is balance, why does it feel like exhaustion? If this is equality, where’s the equity?
Rhetoric can’t hide arithmetic. The math is done. The evidence is in. The only question left is: when do we stop hauling and start rebuilding?
Read the Full Article: The World Economic Forum: Global Gender Gap Report 2024
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