Care work consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner and indirect care activities such as cooking and cleaning. Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward by unpaid carers. Paid care work is performed for pay or profit by care workers. Domestic workers, who provide both direct and indirect care in households are also part of the care workforce.
Jobless growth and low female labour force participation (FLFP) in India are pressing concerns for policymakers — these issues persist despite widespread discussions and efforts made to address them. FLFP stands at 31.5 % compared to 77.4% of males, a huge gap that presents both challenges and opportunities (Figure 1).
A significant portion of the work performed by women, particularly unpaid household care work, goes unrecognised and is considered outside the labour force. The burden of activities including cooking, cleaning, and caring for old, adults, and children largely falls upon women. The burden of such activities restricts women’s participation in the market and these activities are not even recognised as work. Once this work is recognised, it becomes evident that more women are working in India than men, challenging the perception of low female work participation (Figure 1).
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Figure 1 reports the usual labour force participation (LFP) and LFP plus care work for the period of 2017 to 2023 according to men and women. We can note that women’s LFP is three-four times less compared to men’s. But when we account for care work we can see that women’s LFP is higher than men’s. Women have been assigned the responsibility of unpaid care work in households, even when it does not necessarily require their involvement.
Figure 1: Labor force participation (age 15 and plus). Source: Author’s calculation based on Periodic Labour Force Survey
Figure 2: Unpaid Household chore as reason for out of labor force. Source: Author’s calculation based on Periodic Labour Force Survey
The unpaid household burden is one of the major reasons behind women’s lower participation in labour market. As depicted in Figure 2 — 75% of women who are out of the market remain engaged in unpaid domestic care responsibility, while the comparable figure for men is only 5%. Even women who are actively engaged in the workforce often carry a significant burden of unpaid care responsibilities, such as childcare and household chores, which can impact their ability to fully participate in the labour market. As seen in Figure 3, female underemployment (less than 40 hours of work a week) has increased over the years, from 40% of women underemployed in 2017-18 to 54% in 2022-23 while for men it has increased from 15% to 18% for the same period. This stark difference is a depiction of the double burden that is largely true for working women. This issue may not be unexpected, but it is a critical concern that demands careful consideration and prompt action from policymakers to address its implications.
Figure 3: Unemployment and under-employment (age 15 and plus). Source: Author’s calculation based on Periodic Labour Force Survey
Figure 4: Average time spent in a day (15<=age<=64). Source: Author’s calculation based on Time Use Survey
Such imbalance in power relations and depiction of it is reflected everywhere in society. Societal expectations often place the sole responsibility of childcare, household chores, and other domestic duties on women, reinforcing gender inequality and limiting their potential. “Women living in a household with a child less than 15 years have a lower labour market participation. Women spend eight times more time in unpaid domestic and child care compared to men (Figure 4). The burden for women seems non-declining in the foreseeable future as the aging population in India is increasing and the care responsibilities fall largely under female work (Figure 5). Therefore, investing in the care economy is essential to alleviate the burden on women, enabling them to participate in the labor market in a meaningful and empowered way, rather than being driven by distress. This investment can also create decent job opportunities within the care economy, where women have a comparative advantage, leading to more equitable and sustainable economic growth.
Figure 5: Percentage of population age 60 and above. Source: World Population Prospects 2022Way forward
The initial step towards addressing the care economy’s significance is to acknowledge, appreciate, and quantify the value of care contributions to the economy, recognising their substantial impact on economic growth and development.
Since it is not recognised, employers have the perception that women work primarily to supplement household income, thus they offer lower wages. Women such as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers and Anganwadi workers are at the forefront for the successful implementation of many health and education-related schemes of the government. However, the state does not identify them as workers and they are offered less than minimum wages.
The burden of care work for women should be reduced through better infrastructure in the household and society. Collecting fuel and water takes immense time for women. Around 41% of households use dirty cooking fuel, predominantly in rural India. On an average, women spend approximately 374 hours every year collecting firewood. Similarly, women spend four hours each day cooking while using traditional stoves. Interestingly, a clean cookstove can save one hour and ten minutes of cooking time. Similarly, 80% of the households are without a piped water connection needing them to travel for water fetching. Hence, this infrastructure should be made accessible and improved.
Moreover, the increasing demand for childcare and elderly care should be met through various schemes that directly provide services while offering decent employment opportunities for the caregiver. Skills are the biggest constraint in this sector and India is far behind in skilling even to meet current demand. Along with skilling up the manpower and scaling up schemes like Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, state should provide provisions of direct care services for children and elderly needing help in ADSL and IADSL in coordination with the private sector.
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This can create decent employment as well as lay down the foundation for the care economy. Women spend a significant amount of time in activities related to cooking and cleaning. One of the key reasons behind this has been that the adoption of technology related to home appliances in Indian households has been very slow. According to the Time Use Survey 2019, in rural India only about 3.6% of households rely on the use of washing machines whereas in urban India about 15% of households use washing machines. Similarly, 98% of the households in rural India clean their houses manually whereas in urban India about 90% of the household clean their houses manually.
The state should play an active role in redistributing domestic duties between men and women along with forming the foundation for the care economy. The blend of these policies has the potential to create decent jobs in India and lay down the foundation of the care economy while increasing the FLFP.
Dr. Ishwor Adhikari is a development economist. He can be reached at ishworadhikari85@gmail.com
