a woman's work is never done

English

Etymology

From a traditional rhyming couplet, found in at least two forms:

Man works till set of sun,

Woman's work is never done.

From rise of morn to set of sun

Woman's work is never done.

Proverb

a woman's work is never done

1. Housework, which is generally considered women's work, is never finished.
2. Women generally work long and hard, especially as they often are responsible for housework and care roles in addition to paid work.
   • 1878, Edward Payson Roe, chapter 1, in A Face Illumined:

     "Six o'clock, and working still! […] They say a woman's work is never done," remarked Ik Stanton, dropping into the easiest chair in the studio, "and for this reason, were there no other, your muse is evidently of the feminine persuasion."

   • 1979 April 1, Charles E. Silberman, “A Proper Way to Live”, in New York Times, retrieved 7 July 2019:

     As Professor Myerhoff writes: "The adage 'A woman's work is never done' calls attention to the continuity of woman's tasks on a daily basis."

   • 2010 October 30, Antonia Zerbisias, “Feminomics: calculating the value of 'women's work'”, in The Star, Canada, retrieved 7 July 2019:

     According to the old maxim, a woman’s work is never done. It certainly never counts, a least not by the economic formulae that figure out the wealth of a nation.

   • 2018 August 7, Harriet Marsden, “Why should women do the hard, unpaid work after Brexit?”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 7 July 2019:

     They say a woman’s work is never done. If certain Brexiteers have their way, that might be truer than ever. […] [A] no-deal Brexit would mean a disastrous shortfall in care staff, which would force women out of the office and into unpaid social care roles, looking after elderly parents.

See also

• double day
• it's a man's world
• one hair of a woman can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen