Emotional labor is the invisible, unnoticed, unwaged, unwritten, undervalued work women do at home and in the paid workforce. It is the thinking about what’s coming up, what needs to happen, how to look into the future to anticipate birthdays, school permissions slips, family meals, holiday dinners, do we have enough toilet paper, how come we don’t have any more ketchup? Granted, all of these little tasks are each one of them easy to do but also supremely important to the functioning of a well-ordered home and to family happiness. The tasks are like part of the clothing that women wear. It falls onto her shoulders like a giant set of shoulder pads.

Regina Lark’s Emotional Labor: Why A Woman’s Work is Never Done and What To Do About It explores historical and contemporary themes for why the work is called, “women’s work” (even though the work doesn’t require lipstick or a bra!) and provides three ways we can begin to disrupt the narrative. 

In 2008, Dr. Regina Lark founded A Clear Path: Professional Organizing and Productivity. Regina is a featured speaker and educator on issues ranging from productivity, hoarding, and women’s leadership. This past October, Regina published her third book, Emotional Labor: Why A Woman’s Work is Never Done and What To Do About It.