The Struggle to Count Women’s Labour Force

After Reading This Article You Can Solve This UPSC Mains Model Question:

“Women’s labour remains largely invisible in conventional economic and labour statistics.” Discuss the reasons behind this invisibility and examine its implications for gender equality and inclusive development in India. Suggest measures to recognise and value women’s labour in the context of Viksit Bharat. (GS-1, Society)

Introduction:

Despite being central to household functioning and social well-being, women’s labour especially unpaid care and domestic work remains largely invisible in conventional economic and labour statistics. This invisibility distorts economic indicators like labour force participation and GDP, reinforces gender inequality, and leads to policy blind spots.

Defining Women’s Labour Beyond Market Metrics:

1. Beyond Paid Employment

• Women’s labour includes not only paid work in formal or informal sectors but also unpaid care and domestic work, which is excluded from market-based definitions of labour.

2. Unpaid Care and Domestic Work

• Activities such as cooking, cleaning, childcare, eldercare, fetching water and fuel, and household management constitute productive labour essential for societal functioning.

3. Invisible in Economic Accounting

• Conventional indicators like GDP and Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) count only monetised activities, rendering women’s unpaid contributions statistically invisible.

4. Foundation of the Care Economy

• Women’s unpaid labour sustains the care economy, enabling the workforce to function by maintaining health, nutrition, and human capital.

5. Time as a Key Measure

• Time-use surveys reveal that women spend significantly more hours than men on unpaid work, highlighting labour intensity beyond income metrics.

6. Gendered Division of Labour

• Social norms and patriarchy assign care roles primarily to women, making this labour socially expected but economically unrecognised.

Roots of Labour Invisibility:

1. Market-Centric Definition of Work

• Economic and labour frameworks recognise only paid, market-based work, excluding unpaid care and domestic work predominantly done by women.

2. GDP and Statistical Measurement Bias

• National income accounts and labour surveys focus on monetised output, making household and care work statistically invisible.

3. Patriarchal Social Norms

• Deep-rooted gender norms treat domestic and care work as women’s “natural responsibility” rather than productive labour.

4. Informality and Home-Based Nature of Work

• A large share of women’s work is informal or home-based, which is poorly captured in official employment data.

5. Policy and Institutional Blind Spots

• Labour laws, social security systems, and welfare policies are designed around formal employment, excluding unpaid women workers.

Impacts of Not Counting Women’s Labour:

1. Underestimation of Economic Output
   1. Excluding unpaid care and domestic work leads to a distorted GDP, undervaluing the true size and productivity of the economy.
2. Low Measured Female Labour Force Participation
   1. Women heavily engaged in unpaid work are classified as “non-workers,” resulting in artificially low female LFPR.
3. Policy Blind Spots and Poor Planning
   1. Absence of accurate data leads to inadequate investment in childcare, eldercare, health, and social infrastructure.
4. Reinforcement of Gender Inequality
   1. Invisibility of women’s labour perpetuates wage gaps, economic dependence, and lack of social security.
5. Intergenerational and Developmental Costs
   1. Unrecognised care work affects women’s health, education, and skill development, reducing long-term human capital formation.

Linkage to Wider Concepts and Global Perspectives:

1. Feminist Economics

• The discipline criticises traditional economics for ignoring care work and non-market labour, arguing for broader definitions of economic activity.

2. SDG 5 — Gender Equality

• SDG Target 5.4 explicitly calls for the recognition and valuation of unpaid care and domestic work through public services and shared responsibility.

3. Labour Force Participation Debate

• India’s female labour force participation remains low compared to other economies, and unpaid work is a key factor. Experts note that structural reforms and supportive policies are needed to improve participation.

Government Initiatives to Recognise and Reduce the Invisibility of Women’s Labour:

1. Time Use Survey (TUS), India
   1. Conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) to capture unpaid care and domestic work.
   1. Provides gender-disaggregated data on time spent on household and caregiving activities.
   1. Aims to improve evidence-based policymaking and align with SDG 5.4.
2. Gender Budgeting
   1. Introduced to ensure gender-responsive allocation of resources.
   1. Recognises women’s unpaid and underpaid work indirectly by prioritising spending on health, education, nutrition, and care-related sectors.
3. National Policy for Women
   1. Proposes recognition of unpaid care work and strengthening women’s participation in economic activities.
   1. Emphasises redistribution of care responsibilities between state, market, and households.
4. Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
   1. Extends paid maternity leave, acknowledging women’s reproductive and care roles.
   1. Encourages institutional responsibility for caregiving, though limited to the formal sector.
5. Anganwadi Services under ICDS
   1. Provides childcare, nutrition, and early childhood care.
   1. Reduces the unpaid care burden on women, enabling greater labour force participation.
6. National Creche Scheme
   1. Supports working mothers by providing day-care facilities for children.
   1. Helps women, especially in informal work, balance paid work and caregiving responsibilities.
7. Skill India and DAY–NRLM
   1. Enhances women’s access to skills, livelihoods, and self-employment.
   1. Indirectly addresses labour invisibility by enabling transition from unpaid to paid work.

Way Forward: Recognising and Valuing Women’s Labour:

1. Reform Measurement Frameworks
   1. Institutionalise regular Time Use Surveys and integrate findings into labour statistics and national accounts.
   1. Expand the definition of “work” beyond market activity to include unpaid care and domestic labour.
2. Invest in Care Infrastructure
   1. Scale up childcare, crèches, eldercare, and healthcare services to reduce women’s unpaid work burden.
   1. Treat care services as social infrastructure, similar to roads or power.
3. Redistribute Care Responsibilities
   1. Promote shared household responsibilities through behavioural change campaigns and policy incentives.
   1. Encourage paternal leave and flexible work arrangements for men.

4. Formalise and Protect Care Work
   • Recognise domestic and care workers as workers with legal protections, minimum wages, and social security.
   • Extend labour rights to informal and home-based women workers.
5. Strengthen Gender-Responsive Policy Making
   • Use gender-disaggregated data in budgeting, employment schemes, and welfare programmes.
   • Align policies with SDG 5.4 and international best practices.

Conclusion:

Recognising women’s labour is essential to achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat, which seeks inclusive and people-centric development by 2047. Ignoring unpaid care and domestic work undervalues women’s contribution and weakens human capital formation. A shift towards a care-inclusive development model will enhance women’s labour participation, strengthen social infrastructure, and support sustainable growth.