Cognitive labor

{{Short description|Unseen mental work mostly by women}}

File:My to do list is healed and in use! (4668030838).jpg, done mostly by women.]]

Cognitive labor is sociological and feminist concept referring to the invisible mental work many women do in relationships and families.{{Cite journal |last=Daminger |first=Allison |date=2019 |title=The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48595780 |journal=American Sociological Review |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=609–633 |issn=0003-1224}} It is related to invisible labor, emotional labor, and unpaid work{{Cite web |last=Daminger |first=Allison |date=2019-09-19 |title=How Couples Share "Cognitive Labor" and Why it Matters |url=https://behavioralscientist.org/how-couples-share-cognitive-labor-and-why-it-matters/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Behavioral Scientist |language=en}} while emphasizing the cost of planning, organizing, scheduling, managing and worrying, in addition to "executing."{{Cite web |title=The Unseen Inequity of Cognitive Labor |url=https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ideas/the-unseen-inequity-of-cognitive-labor |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Daminger |first=Allison |date=2024-03-04 |title=A Cognitive Labor of Love - by Allison Daminger |url=https://behavioralscientist.org/a-cognitive-labor-of-love/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Behavioral Scientist |language=en}} The distribution of cognitive labor falls disproportionately on women.{{Cite web |last=Kecmanovic |first=Jelena |title=Tired of Doing the Invisible Work in Your Family? {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/from-science-to-practice/201908/tired-of-doing-the-invisible-work-in-your-family |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Psychology Today |language=en-US}} Handling the majority of cognitive labor is a burden that prevents women from pursuing opportunities or achieving greater health and happiness.{{Cite web |last=Hogenboom |first=Melissa |title=The hidden load: How 'thinking of everything' holds mums back |url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210518-the-hidden-load-how-thinking-of-everything-holds-mums-back |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} A recommendation for balancing cognitive labor is making it more explicit and visible.{{Cite news |last=Grose |first=Jessica |date=June 2, 2021 |title=Why Women Do the Household Worrying |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/parenting/women-gender-gap-domestic-work.html |access-date=September 20, 2024 |work=NY Times}}