Every year, we get a new report reminding us that gender inequality hasn’t gone away, it’s just gotten better at hiding in plain sight. The latest EIGE Gender Equality Report (2025) is no exception. It’s full of hard-hitting stats that confirm what many of us already know: being a woman, and especially a mum, still comes with an invisible tax, in time, energy, opportunity and often, health.
At Kiki, we’re building a product designed to reduce that burden, and we’re building a company that won’t add to it.
Let’s talk about the numbers.
Progress… at a Snail’s Pace
According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), the EU’s overall Gender Equality Index currently sits at 71 out of 100, a modest improvement of just 7.9 points since 2010. At this pace, it will take another 60 years to reach full gender equality. Six decades. For our children’s children. That’s not just slow, it’s unacceptable.
The Parenthood Penalty
In 2023, the employment rate for women aged 25–54 with children was 74.9%, compared to 91.9% for men. That’s a 17 percentage point gap, just for becoming a parent. Among those without children, the gap shrinks to just 4 percentage points. Parenthood widens the divide.
Now zoom in on work patterns: 31.8% of mothers work part-time compared to just 5% of fathers. Why? Because 29.5% of part-time women workers cite care duties for children or adults with disabilities as their main reason, compared to only 8.2% of men. For men, part-time work is usually about not finding full-time jobs, not about caregiving.
And these numbers aren’t just about time. They’re about perception, power, and long-term pay. The more part-time work is seen as a “mum thing,” the more it becomes associated with lack of ambition, which leads to less investment, fewer opportunities, and slower career progression. All while dads who work long hours get patted on the back for being “dedicated.”
This isn’t just a workplace problem. It’s a systems problem. It starts at home, and it shows up everywhere.
Who’s Still Doing the Work?
Care doesn’t pause when the workday starts. It runs alongside it, woven into every hour, every task, every calendar clash.
According to EIGE’s latest data, more than half of women with children under 12 spend at least 5 hours a day caring for them, compared to just 26% of men. But the real gut punch? Around 50% of women are primarily responsible for their children’s personal and physical care, while only 6% of men say the same.
That responsibility gap shapes everything else.
And it doesn’t stop with childcare. In 2022, 63% of women did housework daily, compared to just 33% of men. Yes, the gap is narrowing, but progress is slow.
As the EIGE report puts it:
“Unequal gender division of household labour between men and women is one of the reasons for gender-based part-time work.”
In other words, women aren’t choosing part-time work out of preference, they’re pushed into it by circumstance. The imbalance at home ripples out into careers, income, health and long-term financial security.
We see this every day in the lives of the parents we’re building Kiki for, and in our own lives, too.
Why Kiki Exists
Kiki was born from a missed email about a reading session. One tiny, everyday thing that felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back. Like so many parents, I was juggling school forms, permission forms, meal planning, calendar clashes, emotional labour and my actual job. And the mental load was crushing.
So I set out to build Kiki, so we could automate some of that load-lifting.
Our product is designed for busy parents who are tired of having to remember everything. Kiki connects to your emails and calendars, extracts the important info (like “Last day of term – 1.15pm pickup”), and turns it into actionable, digestible reminders. It’s accessible, inclusive, and designed with neurodivergent users in mind.
It’s not going to fix structural inequality on its own, but it can make the day-to-day easier. It can buy back time, reduce stress and give parents space to breathe. And that matters.
Not Just a Product. A Culture.
We’re not just building tech for families. We’re building a company that works in harmony with a family.
At Kiki:
- We don’t idolise overwork. We believe you can be brilliant at your job and pick up your kids at 3.
- We offer flexible hours, part-time roles, and async work by default.
- We know caregiving is work, and we respect it.
- We celebrate your whole life, not just your job title; so there’s no guilt in leaving early for a school concert or when a sick child becomes your unexpected meeting co-host.
The EIGE report points out that flexible work arrangements are a double-edged sword: they help women participate in the workforce, but if men don’t take them up too, they become another tool for reinforcing inequality. That’s why we encourage everyone at Kiki to use flexible options, not just mums. Because normalising balance is everyone’s job.
Changing the Narrative
The stats show that 38% of people in the EU still believe a woman’s primary role is to take care of home and family. And 42% say a man’s job is to earn money. Nearly half of people agree that men are “naturally less competent” at housework. Let that sink in.
This isn’t just about numbers, it’s about beliefs. And until we challenge those beliefs, we’ll keep seeing the same patterns. But if men are never given a chance to take charge or share the load, however will they ever themselves believe they can do it.
At Kiki, we’re challenging this by design. Every feature we build is about easing and sharing the cognitive burden of running a household, something that disproportionately falls on women. Even our company policies reflect fairness and our commitment for creating room for people’s full lives.
Final Thoughts
The gender care gap isn’t just a footnote in economic reports, it’s a lived reality for millions of families. But change is possible. Tech can help. Culture can help. Policy can help. And startups like Kiki are trying to be part of the shift.
We’re not perfect. But we’re trying. And we’ll keep trying, until no parent misses an important message because it was buried in a sea of school admin. Until staying on top of family life feels more doable, and less overwhelming.
Let’s build that future. Together.
Want to know more about Kiki? Follow us on:
Or signup to our waitlist to be one of the first to get Kiki into your life.
