MULTITASKING AS STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

A Feminist Theological Reflection on the Concept of Sophia in Christian Education

Abstract

The phenomenon of multitasking is frequently associated with women and is often praised as a form of ability and virtue, particularly within domestic life, church ministry, and the world of work. Behind this glorification, however, multitasking often conceals layered workloads that contribute to physical exhaustion, psychological pressure, and the neglect of women’s human limitations. This article aims to examine multitasking as a form of structural violence against women through a feminist theological approach grounded in the biblical concept of wisdom (sophia/hokmah). Employing a literature-based study that integrates creation theology, wisdom theology, feminist theology, and findings from cognitive science regarding the effects of multitasking on human performance and well-being, this article argues that human beings were not created to work in a fragmented and limitless manner. In the biblical perspective, wisdom is not understood as the capacity to carry multiple burdens simultaneously, but as a way of life aligned with God’s will, one that honors the limits of creation and sustains wholeness in relationships with oneself, others, and God.Accordingly, the framing of multitasking as a female advantage risks perpetuating gender inequality and forms of oppression that are often legitimized through cultural norms and practices within Christian education. This article proposes a reconstruction of the understanding of wisdom in Christian education and ecclesial life, so that wisdom is no longer equated with excessive productivity, but is reclaimed as a call to live fully, justly, and liberatingly, particularly for women.