Women worldwide dedicate 16 billion hours daily to unpaid care work.

Omissions

• The original UN Women statistic refers to 'women and girls,' not solely 'women' — a minor but meaningful distinction.
• The data underpinning this estimate is not from a single recent year but is a modelled global estimate drawing on time-use surveys, primarily based on ILO data compiled around 2018.
• The ILO frames the 16 billion hours as the total global daily hours of unpaid care work (by all people), with women performing the vast majority. UN Women attributes the full 16 billion to women and girls specifically, reflecting a slight difference in framing between the two primary sources.

Sources

• PrimaryUN WomenWomen and girls do 16 billion hours of unpaid care every day – powering families, communities, and economies.
• PrimaryILOSTAT (International Labour Organization)Every day, more than 16 billion hours are devoted to unpaid domestic and care work around the world.
• PrimaryILOunpaid care work: 16 billion hours per day – 3.2 times more time than men.