Good morning! Prosecutor Fani Willis was removed from the Trump election-interference case, J. Ann Selzer is hit with a lawsuit for her Iowa Poll, and the mental load is bigger than ever during the holiday season. Have a restful weekend!
– Holiday magic. The holiday season can be full of joy, reflection, and quality time—and, for women, an even more overwhelming share of the mental load, the invisible work that goes into managing a household and family.
Ana Catalano Weeks, a senior lecturer in comparative politics at the University of Bath who often studies gender and society, has two new research papers that study the impact of the mental load on women. The first, published with University of Melbourne sociology professor Leah Ruppanner in the Journal of Marriage and Family, follows parents in the U.S. and found that mothers carry, on average, 71% of the mental load. This includes the unseen work that precedes physical work: noticing that the faucet is leaking and must be repaired, remembering when to schedule a doctor’s appointment or cut the kids’ nails, or keeping track of who to give gifts to each holiday season.
Catalano Weeks’ research is among the first to quantitatively, rather than qualitatively, study this labor. “This is work that goes on in people’s heads, so it’s not really possible to observe it,” she explains—compared to typical measures of physical labor like time-use surveys.
So why do women get stuck doing the overwhelming majority of this work? Like with the physical labor of housework, it’s a way of “performing gender,” the researchers found. “The work itself isn’t visible, but the implications of it are,” Catalano Weeks says. If parents don’t remember that it’s Christmas sweater day at school or that the kids are outgrowing their shoes, the mom is typically the one who internalizes that lapse.
Which brings us to Catalano Weeks’ second study: the impact of all this labor on women’s roles in public life through a study of working parents in the U.K. The research, accepted by the British Journal of Political Science but not yet published, finds some of the first causal evidence between the mental load and women’s participation in the workforce and political life. It’s not that women don’t have enough time, but that the cognitive load takes up more space in their minds and “crowds out” the ability or desire to take on additional responsibility at work. Men, who more often are able to forget about the never-ending work of managing a home and family, don’t see that phenomenon to the same degree.
What’s unique about the mental load is the way it cuts across class and privilege. Unlike physical household labor like chores, it’s near-impossible to outsource the entire mental load; even for the wealthiest couples who hire a household manager or equivalent staffer to handle much of this work, someone would still carry the mental load of managing that person.
Stay tuned for the rest of Catalano Weeks’ research—and maybe even share its findings while your families are enjoying holiday magic in December.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
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- Disqualified DA. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been removed from the election-interference case against Donald Trump and others due to her past relationship with a lawyer she hired for the trial team, reversing a trial judge’s previous decision. A representative for Willis did not respond to a request for comment. Wall Street Journal
- Got it poll wrong. Pollster J. Ann Selzer is facing a lawsuit from Donald Trump over her Iowa Poll’s findings from early November showing Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Trump in the state, which Trump wound up winning. Trump is also suing Selzer’s polling firm, the Des Moines Register, and its parent company Gannett, who said the lawsuit did not have any merit. Selzer declined to comment. New York Times
- Economic efforts. MacKenzie Scott shared that most of her funding efforts this year focused on supporting economic security and opportunities, as she donated $2 billion to 199 organizations in 2024. Scott has given away $19.4 billion over the past few years. Bloomberg
- Double standards. Two media companies are being accused of going against their own DEI policies with their support of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has come under controversy for her comments on trans people. The BBC declined to comment, but stated its commitment to inclusivity in the workforce, while Warner Bros. Discovery said that Rowling had a “right to express her personal views.” Rowling declined to comment. Deadline
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Ankler Media, which covers the entertainment industry, appointed Alison Brower as executive editor. Most recently, she was LA bureau chief at Business Insider.
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Perkins American Food, a restaurant chain, named Kimberly Bean VP of marketing. Previously, she was VP of integrated marketing and menu strategy at Papa John’s International.
Manna Tree, a private equity firm, named Grace Zuncic managing director of human talent. Most recently, she was chief people and impact officer and senior advisor at Cotopaxi.
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FIGS, a healthcare apparel company, appointed Melanie Whelan to its board of directors. Most recently, Whelan was managing director at Summit Partners; she was previously CEO of SoulCycle.
EMCOR Group, a services provider for mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure, and other sectors, appointed Amy Dahl to its board of directors. She currently serves as VP, international business and strategy of The Toro Company.
Borealis Biosciences, a RNA medicines developer, appointed Catherine Thut to its board of directors. Thut is therapeutic area strategy head, TAx at Novartis.
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“I used to struggle with the idea of ‘what kind of girl I was’, and what kind of parameters I needed to exist within to be accepted. I’m much happier now that I understand that it’s never going to be defined.”
— Singer Clairo on growing more comfortable with herself
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