12" and CD single

Chart performance

"This Woman's Work" was released on 20 November 1989 and reached a peak position of #25 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. Fifteen years after its original release, in 2005, the song peaked at #3 in the UK Official Download Chart

UK Official Download Chart

The UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being published on a Wednesday afternoon, so as to not to clash with the release of the main UK Singles Chart...

, due to it being featured in the Tamzin Outhwaite

Tamzin Outhwaite

Tamzin Maria Outhwaite is an award-winning English actress. She became known for her role as Melanie Owen in the British soap opera EastEnders, whom she portrayed from 1998 until 2002.-Early career:...

 drama Walk Away and I Stumble. Due to the song's inclusion in Extras

Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it...

, the song entered the UK chart once again at 121 in the week ending 5 January 2008, rising to 76 the following week.

Chart (1989)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	25
Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	89
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	20
Chart (2005)	Peak position
UK Official Download Chart UK Official Download Chart The UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being published on a Wednesday afternoon, so as to not to clash with the release of the main UK Singles Chart...	3
Chart (2008)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	76

Use in popular culture

The song was featured on the Felicity soundtrack, and has been used at key moments in episodes of Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...

, Alias

Alias (TV series)

Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...

, Party of Five

Party of Five

Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...

, Crossing Jordan

Crossing Jordan

Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...

, 7th Heaven

7th Heaven

7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...

, Without a Trace

Without a Trace

Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...

, The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...

, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...

. It was used to promote the season opener of the 2007-2008 season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

. Since 2006 the song has featured on two long-running TV adverts for the British charity the NSPCC

NSPCC

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...

.

The 2007 Special Christmas edition of the Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...

 comedy series Extras, which aired 16 December in the US on HBO and 27 December on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 in the UK, featured two scenes using the song as a soundtrack. Due to the song's inclusion in Extras, the song entered the UK chart once again in January 2008. In June 2008, the song was played at the beginning and end of an Emmerdale

Emmerdale

Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...

episode featuring a custody battle between two sets of parents.

Maxwell's cover versions

In 1997, American R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 musician Maxwell

Maxwell (musician)

Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...

 cover

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

ed the song for the release of his album MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged (Maxwell album)

MTV Unplugged is a live EP by American neo soul singer Maxwell, released by Columbia Records in mid-1997. The album features recordings of Maxwell's performance on the MTV concert series program MTV Unplugged, filmed in New York City earlier in the year...

. The artist later re-recorded the song in studio for his album Now

Now (Maxwell album)

Now is the third studio album by American recording artist Maxwell, released August 14, 2001 on Columbia Records in the United States. Following the lukewarm radio success of his previous album Embrya , Maxwell felt more comfortable with his artistic direction for Now, which does not exhibit his...

(2001). This version of the song was released as the album's second single in 2001 and peaked in the US Billboard charts at #58 (Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

) and #16 (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

). This version also appeared in the movie Love & Basketball. "This Woman's Work" was performed on season 9 of American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

by Michael Lynche

Michael Lynche

Michael Alexander Lynche is an American singer from St. Petersburg, Florida who was the fourth place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. He is the second finalist ever to receive the judges' save, which was introduced in season eight.-Early life:Lynche was born to Michele and Marque...

.

Music video

The music video for Maxwell's cover of "This Woman's Work", which was directed by Sanji

Sanji (director)

Sanji Senaka is a music video and advertising director.Sanji started his career in 1993, but it took 6 years until he made his name known. He was represented by Believe Media until 2004 and FM Rocks until the end of 2006. He is now represented by Yell Productions...

, begins with pictures of Maxwell and his lover in black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

. One picture reveals that his lover has died. In the next scene, Maxwell sees his lover in the street and proceeds to confront her, but he falls through the street, and begins to drown. Maxwell then begins to swim across the street, and pulls himself up by holding on to the side walk. He then enters an almost-empty diner, where every one is waiting for a loved one. Throughout the music video, Maxwell sees his lover in practically every direction.

Use in popular culture

In the feature film Love and Basketball, the song is played as the main characters realize their true feelings for each other and make love. In the movie Stomp the Yard

Stomp the Yard

Stomp the Yard is a 2007 drama and dance film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges...

(2007), Columbus Short

Columbus Short

Columbus Keith Short, Jr. is an American choreographer, actor, and singer. He choreographed Britney Spears's Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman...

 and Meagan Good

Meagan Good

Meagan Monique Good is an American film and television actress and occasional film producer. Beginning her career at the age of four, Good has appeared in numerous commercials, television shows, feature films, and music videos....

 kiss for the first time, when they decide to go out. Maxwell's cover version of the song is played in the background.

It has been used three times in the US version of So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)

So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...

. The first time was in an August 2006 episode, when contestant Allison Holker

Allison Holker

Allison Renae Holker is an American dancer. Most famously known from her appearances on the TV Show So You Think You Can Dance, where she was a contestant in season 2 and an all-star in season 7, Holker is also credited with a wide variety of work in film, television and concert tours.Holker was...

 danced her final solo to the song. The second time was in a July 2008 episode, when contestant Katee Shean danced her solo to the song. The third time was in a July 2009 episode; choreographed by Tyce Diorio

Tyce Diorio

Keith "Tyce" Diorio is an American dancer and choreographer. He is best known for his work as a choreographer and guest judge on the Fox television series So You Think You Can Dance. He has choreographed and performed with Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin...

 for Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, and depicting a woman's struggle with breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

, it brought the hosts including Mia Michaels

Mia Michaels

Mia Michaels is an American choreographer best known for her judging and contemporary choreography on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance . She has worked with musical artists such as Celine Dion, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, and Prince...

 and the audience to tears. Diorio went on to give the same song and choreography to contemporary dancer Robert White and jazz dancer Charlie Bruce on the January 24, 2010 episode of the British version

So You Think You Can Dance (UK)

So You Think You Can Dance is a televised dance competition and reality show that launched in the United Kingdom in January 2010 and similar to the version of the program that has began airing in the USA in 2005. The show is broadcast on BBC One. The content of the show is similar premise to the...

 of So You Think You Can Dance.

It was also used in the television show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" on the season 6

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (season 6)

The sixth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, premiered on FX on September 16, 2010. The season contains 13 episodes and concluded airing on December 9, 2010 with the hour-long Christmas special...

 episode "Dee Gives Birth"

Other cover versions

Japanese singer ACO

ACO (musician)

Aco is a female Japanese singer. She made her debut in 1995 with the pop single Fuan nano . She is a part of Sony Music Japan. She explores different musical styles, with the albums absolute ego and material displaying Electronica influences...

 covered this song on her 2001 album Material. In 2009 Greg Laswell

Greg Laswell

Greg Laswell is a musician, recording engineer, and producer from San Diego, California. He has released four studio albums: Good Movie in 2003, Through Toledo in 2006, and Three Flights from Alto Nido in 2008, and Take a Bow in 2010, as well as several EPs and special singles...

 recorded this song on his EP Covers. In 2011 a version by Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...

 appeared on the Every Mother Counts album, an all-female/all-mother compilation CD released by Starbucks which accompanied No Woman, No Cry, a documentary on maternal health, directed by Christy Turlington Burns

Christy Turlington

Christy Turlington Burns is an American model best known for representing Calvin Klein from 1987 to 2007. She has worked on dozens of modeling contracts with companies including Maybelline Cosmetics and Versace. Turlington starred in her fashion documentary Catwalk and Isaac Mizrahi's Unzipped...

.