Women work 12 days more than men

WOMEN in Britain work nearly 12 days more a year than men due to sexism, a study claims.

The World Economic Forum said women put in 41 minutes more than men every day in paid and unpaid work.

They also revealed that the world gender equality gap is now at its most extreme since 2008. It is not forecast to close until 2186 – 170 years from now.

The Global Gender Gap Report looked at a range of indicators, including average salaries and positions of the sexes, in 144 countries to measure how equal they were.

Britain was ranked 20th behind nations such as Nicaragua, Slovenia and even Rwanda. Across all the nations, women work on average 39 more days a year than men, or 50 minutes a day. In Britain, women spend 454 minutes per day on paid work while men put in 438 minutes, a difference of 16 minutes.

Additionally, women spend 57 minutes per day on unpaid work while men give up 32 minutes, a difference of 25 minutes.

Combining paid and unpaid work, women put in an extra 41 minutes every day.

Report author Saadia Zahidi said that inadequate childcare was a major problem in Britain. Mothers were not only expected to do their jobs but also look after the family. Another factor keeping women in Britain down was bias against them in the workplace, she said.

The report found that in Britain just 35 per cent of women occupy managerial roles and made up 26 per cent of boardroom roles.

When the annual report was started 11 years ago, Britain was ranked 9th but it has slipped down the rankings as other countries have advanced more quickly.

The study concluded: ‘At the current rate of change, and given the widening economic gender gap since last year, it will not be closed for another 170 years.

‘The economic gender gap this year has reverted back to where it stood in 2008’.