92. Gemma Hartley on Emotional Labor and the Parenthood Path episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 28, 2026 · 53 MIN

92. Gemma Hartley on Emotional Labor and the Parenthood Path

from The Kids or Childfree Podcast

Keltie is joined by freelance writer and author of the book, Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward, Gemma Hartley. Their discussion explores... What terms like emotional labor, mental load, and invisible labor actually mean. The interplay of these things within partnerships, and in particular, the decision to have kids. Why having children exacerbates existing imbalances in relationships. The impact of societal expectations on women, and how social conditioning causes women to shoulder more emotional labor. Gemma's personal parenthood journey, as a mother of three, and how she and her partner corrected their emotional labor imbalance and built a more equitable partnership. ____ (2:05) Meet Gemma & her Kids or Childfree decision (8:43) (4:32) Defining emotional labor, mental load, and invisible labor (11:16) Tips for navigating an emotional labor imbalance & parenthood (23:20) How Gemma and her husband built a more equitable partnership (36:36) Mental load with multiple kids (46:04) Solo parenthood ____  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Gemma's Instagram ▸ https://www.instagram.com/gemmalhartley/ Gemma's Substack, Angry Woman ▸ https://gemmahartley.substack.com Gemma's first book, Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward ▸ https://bookshop.org/p/books/fed-up-emotional-labor-women-and-the-way-forward-gemma-hartley/933f0f3a89b3cb4b?ean=9780062856463&next=t   Order Gemma's forthcoming book, No One Loves An Angry Woman ▸ https://bit.ly/3Z57qWU ____  ABOUT GEMMA Gemma Hartley is a longtime freelance writer, writing coach, yoga instructor and most notably author of Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward. She has spoken on the topic of the mental load and emotional labor around the world, from corporate conferences to festivals at the Sydney Opera House. Her hope is to create work that encourages a more equitable world in which invisible labor is valued and supported by both personal partners and public policy alike. ____ MORE HELP FOR YOUR KIDS OR CHILDFREE DECISION Start Here: sign up for an upcoming WORKSHOP 🔗 https://kidsorchildfree.com/workshop Join a GROUP PROGRAM 🔗 Kids or Childfree Group Program ▸ https://www.kidsorchildfree.com/kids-or-childfree-program 🔗Confidently Childfree Group Intensive ▸ https://www.kidsorchildfree.com/confidently-childfree-group-intensive Access an ON DEMAND class 🔗 Peruse the entire On Demand Collection ▸ https://www.kidsorchildfree.com/ondemand Join one of our monthly SUPPORT SERIES sessions 🔗 Kids or Childfree Support Series ▸ https://kidsorchildfree.com/kids-or-childfree-support-series 🔗Confidently Childfree Support Series ▸ https://kidsorchildfree.com/confidently-childfree-support-series Work with me in 1-on-1 COACHING 🔗 https://kidsorchildfree.com/coaching FREE resources ▸ https://kidsorchildfree.com/free-resources CONNECT ONLINE 💻 Website ▸ http://kidsorchildfree.com 📸 Instagram ▸ http://instagram.com/kidsorchildfree ⏰ Tiktok ▸ https://tiktok.com/@kidsorchildfree 📽️ YouTube ▸ https://www.youtube.com/@KidsorChildfree  👉 Brought to you by Keltie Maguire, Clarity Coach ▸ http://keltiemaguire.com Love what you're hearing? 💕 Subscribe | Like | Comment | Share with a friend

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92. Gemma Hartley on Emotional Labor and the Parenthood Path

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This episode is 53 minutes long.

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This episode was published on January 28, 2026.

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Keltie is joined by freelance writer and author of the book, Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward, Gemma Hartley. Their discussion explores... What terms like emotional labor, mental load, and invisible labor actually mean. The...

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