The inequalities of time are stark | Letters

Time is a resource that reflects power, raising the question of who gets to decide how it is spent, says Dr Louise Lawson

Writing this letter has been a productivity gain for me as a full-time academic, parent and unpaid carer for my disabled partner. While Tania Roettger’s reflection on parenthood and productivity was refreshing and resonated, it risks reinforcing a narrow narrative about time, work and care, shaped by persistent gender inequalities in paid and unpaid labour (Whisper it: becoming a mum can make you a more productive writer, 28 May). For many women, productivity gains are less about drafting a paragraph for a novel and more about contending with chores that remain gendered.

Policy debates from the four-day week to Living Hours increasingly recognise problems of too much versus too little paid work. Yet framing time solely in terms of the number of hours worked misses a crucial issue. The rhythms, scheduling, predictability and control of working time are fundamental to wellbeing, especially given women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid labour, which continues to structure and constrain how time is experienced.