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Unpaid work and women

Aug 17, 2022 · 2 mins read

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We all know the benefits of work. Paid work gives freedom and economic independence. The money you earn working is accounted as a part of your country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

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But what about the work done or goods/services produced inside a household? Domestic work is mostly done by women and is not accounted for in the calculation of GDP.

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Activities like cooking, gardening, cleaning, childcare, laundry, mowing the lawn, walking the dog, or taking care of the elderly are all kinds of domestic work which are largely unpaid.

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According to the OECD, men in the USA spend 150.2 mins/day — about 17.5 hrs/week — doing unpaid labour. Women spend 243.2 mins doing unpaid labour/day — about 28.4 hrs/week.

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When you add both paid and unpaid work together, women still work longer hours. Most working women have to do two jobs: in their house and in the office.

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Thus women have less time for paid work in comparison to men. Yet women fill in for all the social services that sustain families and support economies.

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Unpaid care and domestic work represent between 10 and 39 per cent of GDP and can contribute more to the economy than the manufacturing, commerce or transportation sectors.

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Because most domestic work is unpaid, womens’ role in the economy is not fully represented or acknowledged.

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Research shows that when men do their share of chores, their partners are happier and less depressed, conflicts are fewer, and divorce rates are lower.

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Final Note: The real value of unpaid work is still not recognized by global economies. But we individually can reduce the burden on women by splitting communal and household responsibilities more evenly.

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