4th March 2025 (14 Topics)
1
Mar
3
Mar
4
Mar
Women’s invisible labour and the dreams of Viksit Bharat
You must be logged in to get greater insights. click here to login
Context
The Time Use Survey 2024, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, highlights the persistent gender disparity in unpaid domestic and caregiving work in India. Despite marginal improvement, women continue to spend significantly more time on household responsibilities, affecting their economic participation and workplace equality.
Gendered Division of Unpaid Work
- Disproportionate Burden: In 2024, women spent 289 minutes/day on unpaid domestic services, 201 minutes more than men. Additionally, they spent 140 minutes on caregiving, compared to 75 minutes for men.
- Limited Labour Participation: Women’s unpaid workload reduces time for paid employment, education, and skill development, restricting upward mobility.
- Reinforcement of Wage Gap: Women often work in low-paid, informal jobs due to time constraints, exacerbating income disparities with men.
Economic and Social Impact
- Labour Force Disparity: Women’s Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) stands at 41.7% (PLFS 2023-24), while men’s LFPR is 78%, showing stark inequality.
- Macroeconomic Losses: A study estimates women’s unpaid work is valued at 15-17% of GDP, signifying a major unrecognized economic contribution.
- Structural Inequality: Societal norms glorify minimal male contribution to household work while devaluing women’s domestic roles, perpetuating discrimination.
Need for Policy and Cultural Transformation
- Investment in the Care Economy: The ILO report (October 2024) emphasizes strengthening childcare, elderly care, and education to ease women’s domestic burden.
- Shared Household Responsibilities: Encouraging equal distribution of domestic tasks through education, media campaigns, and workplace support policies.
- Formal Recognition of Unpaid Work: Policies like tax incentives, paid caregiving leaves, and social security benefits can help integrate unpaid labour into economic planning.
Practice Question
Q. The disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving work on women is a key barrier to gender equality in India. Discuss its economic and social impact and suggest measures for formal recognition and redistribution of unpaid work.
More Articles
Courses
Study
Notes
Home
Resources
More
