Work-life balance isn't working for women. Why?

NEW YORK (AP) — About half of working women reported feeling stressed “a lot of the day," compared to about 4 in 10 men, according to a Gallup report published this week.

The report suggests that competing demands of work and home comprise part of the problem: working women who are parents or guardians are more likely than men who are parents to say they have declined or delayed a promotion at work because of personal or family obligations, and mothers are more likely than fathers to “strongly agree” that they are the default responders for unexpected child care issues.

And 17% of women overall report having to address personal or family responsibilities at work “daily” or “several times a day,” compared with 11% of men overall.

“There’s been much attention and discussion about promoting women’s well-being and helping women succeed as leaders in the workplace. But at the same time, we’re seeing record levels of stress, of worry, of burnout for women,” said Gallup managing director Ilana Ron Levey at an event on Wednesday presenting the research findings, which were based on four separate surveys of nearly 20,000 adults working full time or part time, conducted between February 2023 and October 2024.