A Step Back in Gender Equality

Context: Paying women for domestic and care work is a recognition of their efforts but may not reduce and redistribute their burden.

Gender disparity in unpaid domestic and care work:  According to the All-India Time Use Survey (2019) Report

• 81% of females (six years and above) and 26% of males participate in unpaid domestic work.
• On average, Women spend 299 minutes a day in unpaid domestic work; males spend only 97 minutes.
• Females bear more than 83% of the burden of domestic and care work in India.

Issues with paid domestic and care work by women:

• Only ensures recognition: while leaving out other issues like gender disparity and redistribution of work.
• Reinforcing the existing social norm: that domestic and care work is ‘women’s work; It has the risk of furthering the gender disparity in unpaid work within homes.
• Fails at redistribution of the burden of unpaid work:
  • E.g. Men may claim that women are bound to do these unpaid activities as they are being compensated for the time spent or income foregone
  • Men may also claim that woman can at best expect men only to help but not participate daily in carrying out these activities.

Way forward:

• Adopting ‘Triple -R’ in Public policy: aimed at closing the huge gender gap in unpaid domestic and care work through ‘Recognition, Reduction and Redistribution’ (Triple-R).
  • While payment for house works provides ‘Recognition’ (practical gender needs), significant efforts are needed to achieve ‘Reduction’ and ‘Redistributing ’ (strategic gender needs).
  • Aim at increasing men’s participation by incentivizing men monetarily or otherwise, to participate more and spend longer hours in carrying out unpaid domestic work.