Women in Spain are not paid for almost 6 hrs a day: Study

Women in Spain work for an average of 13 hours a day, of which 7.3 hours are paid, while 5.7 hours are unpaid, a study published by the EAE Business School has said.

The study conducted by Professor Laura Sagnier showed the difficult situation facing many working women in Spain once they become parents. The unpaid part is mainly work at home, including caring for children, Xinhua news agency reported.

Home is a major issue for the 2,400 women, who participated in the study, which discovered that despite the differences in earnings, women still pay 42 per cent of total family expenses.

Meanwhile, the arrival of children is an extra drain on women, who find themselves doing 76 per cent of the new tasks caused by the arrival of a child, while the fathers carry out just 24 per cent.

The study translated this into that "women who are active in the labour market spend three extra hours a day on tasks involving the family, while men spend on average less than an hour a day" on such tasks.

The study highlighted that for 42 per cent of women currently working, their jobs give them no satisfaction, merely "gives them money, and if they didn't need the money they wouldn't work".

The study was published the day before Thursday's historic 'feminist strike' in Spain, one of whose main goals is to show that if women stop working, the country stops, highlighting their importance to the Spanish economy as well as to family life.

Another goal is to protest against difference in the remuneration men and women receive for doing the same job.

The strike also aims to protest against gender violence, sexual harassment and sexist attitudes in general.

--IANS

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