Despite the fact that nowadays family compositions and the roles within are changing, many women continue to be responsible for all logistics and decision-making in the home. This is why 71% of them suffer from mental load compared to only 12% of men. This is reflected in the study carried out on P&G’s Próxima a ti website in Spain.
As its name suggests, mental load is an invisible burden created by the constant mental effort, assumed by those responsible for what happens in the home. The person who carries this load is generally the one who ensures that everything is working correctly within a family. This doesn’t mean that tasks are not being shared between the couple, but the responsibility tends to fall to the woman to coordinate and ensure that the day to day needs are met.
Confronting this situation, P&G working with Proximity Madrid has developed the #descargamental (#MentalDownload) project. It has involved carrying out a study, interviewing over 2,400 people, men and women, between the ages of 25 and 49, living as a couple, with or without children, across Spain, and covering the issue of daily responsibilities in the home. You can see the results via this link www.descargamental.es
As well as the study, P&G carried out an experiment to demonstrate the problem. They asked 5 couples with different profiles to make lists of their mental tasks in the notes app on their mobile phones. The couples then swapped phones and read each other’s lists aloud. The result was striking.
The men’s notes related to their work and focused on personal matters, while the women not only had more items on their lists, but the majority of these were closely linked to the household, showing the inequality in responsibilities between them. You can watch the full experiment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYQ49eNOUFw&feature=youtu.be
The idea is for the #MentalDownload project to be the first step towards changing this imbalance. The aim is to contribute to the recognition of this reality and create spaces for fraternity and empathy between couples. Thus, through the website Próxima a ti, a platform for helping families in the 21st Century, P&G provides a guide for identifying the division of responsibilities in the home as well as advice from experts to make their daily tasks more manageable.
In short, the website www.descargamental.es seeks to address the issue of mental load, to raise awareness in society, to promote #mentaldownload, and help families at every stage of their lives.
