Communities are dependent on women doing unpaid chores and charity work, two new studies have pointed out.
The true value of unpaid work has been researched by the Yorkshire Building Society - who found that people would earn an extra £8,000 a year on average if they were paid to do their chores.
According to the firm, the typical adult spends around 16 hours per week on housework, with women living up to stereotype and doing the bulk of cooking, cleaning and ironing. Regionally, the Yorkshire found that residents of the north east of England spent the largest overall amount of time on domestic jobs, while people in the West Midlands were the least house-proud.
Tanya Jackson, corporate affairs manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: "It is easy to underestimate the value of work carried out around the home, which can easily be taken for granted as an unpaid occupation."
Meanwhile, a survey from Mother & Baby magazine has revealed that mums contribute a great deal to the economy through their charity work. The study found that the government saved an extra £1 billion a year through mothers volunteering for tasks such as reading in schools or helping out the elderly.
Miranda Levy, editor of Mother & Baby magazine, said: "Communities would be on their knees if it wasn't for the dedicated work and effort mums across the UK put in for free."
