When you think of housework, what picture comes to mind? Strewn clothes? A jumble of grubby plates?

Well a different kind of housework is getting needed attention right now – the kind that women have long tended to at the office.

In her article in Harvard Business Review, Ruchika Tulshyan interviews Be Leaderly’s Selena Rezvani on “office housework” and how women of color, in particular may be expected to manage these tasks more often. Tulshyan defines office housework as everything from administrative work that keeps things moving forward, like taking notes or finding a time everyone can meet – to work that’s important but undervalued, like initiating new processes or keeping track of contracts. It’s also work that’s usually not tied to revenue goals, so far less likely to result in a promotion than, say, chairing an innovation or digital transformation committee.

Read the article and learn how to say “no” confidently – and creatively! While you’re at it, chime in with your own success stories of saying “No” to a lowly task.