Leah Ruppanner

Leah Ruppanner is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Melbourne and one of the Founding Directors of The Future of Work Lab & The Gender Equity Initiative. She was awarded the top in field for Gender Studies (2022 and 2023) and Sociology (2023) for all of Australia. Leah is committed to understanding how women’s unpaid work – the time they spend in housework, childcare and the mental load – impacts their ability to engage in employment, sleep and overall well-being. Given that we only have 24 hours a day, time spent in activities like housework and childcare is time that can’t be spent elsewhere like in employment, rest, or leisure. Her research is cited in The New York Times, Washington Post, Vogue, Forbes and much more.

Leah's current book, Drained: Reduce your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More offers a new way to understand the mental load beyond a to-do list. It forms eight different mental load types - life organization, emotional support, relationship hygiene, magic making, dream building, individual upkeep, safety and meta-care. The heart of the book is the Mental Load Audit, a powerful, practical tool to help readers assess where they are spending their time and attention, and how they can take steps to recalibrate their energy effectively. Ultimately, Leah's goal is to use this research to help women gain control over their time to spend it exactly as they wish – to create more meaning, love, abundance and joy in our lives.