By Hidaya Muhiden and Kristie Drucza
The wellbeing of individuals and society as a whole depends on both paid and unpaid care and domestic work. While some tasks, such as spending time with children or cooking dinner, may be more enjoyable than others, all of them contribute to the upkeep of a prosperous and healthy society. Unpaid care work includes household chores like cooking, cleaning, collecting water and fuel, and providing for children or the elderly. These household responsibilities are crucial to a healthy society and economy, yet they are frequently undervalued. Women and girls carry the bulk of these responsibilities. According to ILO 2019, women carry out three-quarters of unpaid care work, or more than 75 per cent of the total hours provided and dedicated; on average 3.2 times more than men. Women’s unpaid care and domestic work is largely invisible to policy agendas, and hugely unvalued in economic terms.
Unpaid care work exerts a significant impact on women, leading to reduced time and resources for paid work and education. This perpetuates gender disparities in the labour force and pay, with a pronounced gap in high-paying jobs, superannuation and leadership roles. Despite dedicating over three times as much time as men to unpaid care and household duties, 35% of women worldwide also are actively employed as paid workers (OECD, 2014). And yet, women’s work is not fully recognised in the definition of labour used by the System of National Accounts (Admasu et al., 2021).
The effects of poverty further compounds the challenges faced by girls and women, as they grapple with restrictive gender norms and economic inequalities. As women and girls assume primary caregiving roles at home, their chances of pursuing education and employment diminish. Escaping poverty becomes even more daunting, particularly for young women in rural areas, who face limited opportunities for better futures. Many young women from Ethiopia’s countryside are increasingly migrating to cities to work as domestic helpers. Inequality and disempowerment in rural communities, characterised by poverty and hardship, also drives these women to urban centres in search of better opportunities (Admasu et al., 2021). Young women’s employment opportunities are still limited in comparison to those for young men.
Marriage at a younger age continues to be a major factor causing women to leave the labour force. Urban or rural residence, education, standard of living, customs, and norms work together to shape young women’s bargaining power in marriage. The burden of unpaid care not only impacts women’s economic well-being but also shapes their personal development and empowerment prospects. Recognising the vital role of women in caregiving while implementing supportive policies is crucial to fostering gender equality and creating an inclusive society. Thus, by addressing the unequal distribution of unpaid care responsibilities, we can unlock the full potential of women and provide them with the necessary support to thrive in all aspects of life.
Young women’s access to decent employment in rural areas is still very limited, and those who do find it often complain of unfavourable working conditions, low pay, or jobs that are unrelated to their education or training. For rural young women, migrating as a domestic worker and continuing their education in the evening is an important strategy for achieving social mobility and empowerment. In Ethiopia, young women in rural areas encounter limited access to decent employment opportunities and are less likely to be employed than their male counterparts.
Education and employment are the pathways to greater social and economic mobility. Girls and women viewed economic inequality as the main factor underpinning their unequal status. Yet, in Ethiopia education and employment opportunities are limited for women and girls creating a cycle of dependency that is hard to escape.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the impact of unpaid care and domestic work on women is profound and multifaceted. The unequal burden of caregiving responsibilities creates significant barriers for women to access paid work and education, perpetuating gender disparities in the labour force and their pay. This inequality is further exacerbated by the effects of poverty and restrictive gender norms, particularly evident in the rural areas of Ethiopia, where young women face limited opportunities for decent employment and better futures.
While there is no silver bullet, a long term approach to women’s inequality in Ethiopia is still required, and there are some solutions to start with. The following points are recommended as solutions for unpaid care:
- Have women’s work recognised in the definition of labour used by the System of National Accounts.
- Improve school to work transitions for women in rural areas, including technical and vocation training certificates and opportunities.
- Report annually on the gender pay gap and promote equal pay for equal work.
- Take a high profile organisation to court for underpaying women compared with men.
- Give men equal paternity leave to what women get for maternity leave.
- Support women role models as business owners and leaders, rather than largely recognising them as mothers.
- Support women’s entrepreneurship and product development in rural areas, including in childcare and aged care centres/provision.
- Give out solar panel powered washing machines and other labour saving technology such as hand water pumps that do not need electricity.
- Protect the rights of domestic workers and increase the minimum wage.
To address these challenges and promote gender equality, it is essential to recognise, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work. An equitable division of labour within families and communities, along with the provision of valuable public services, will enable women to balance their caregiving responsibilities with other aspects of life. By implementing these measures, we can create a society where the contributions of women in caregiving roles are valued and supported.
Recognising and reducing the burden of unpaid care work will pave the way for greater gender equality, improved economic opportunities, and enhanced empowerment for women and girls worldwide. Let us work together to build a more equitable and inclusive world where women can thrive in all aspects of life.
Acknowledgment
This blog is the first of a series to reflect on our learnings from a project under the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) – East Africa Initiative. GrOW is jointly funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. We thank GrOW wholeheartedly for funding and making this project on ‘Enhancing women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and tackling unpaid care (UC) in Ethiopia possible. We also acknowledge our gratitude to our partners; WISE for capacity strengthening of key policy actors, and Addis PowerHouse for strengthening the in-country coalition of key WEE champions.
References
- Admasu, Y., Crivello, G., & Porter, C. (2021). Young women’s transitions from education to the labour market in Ethiopia. A gendered life-course perspective,” WIDER Working Paper, 96.
- ILO (2019) “The Unpaid Care Work and the Labour Market. An analysis of time use data based on the latest World Compilation of Time-use Surveys/Jacques Charmes; International Labour Office, Geneva.
- OECD Development Centre (2014) “Unpaid Care Work: The missing link in the analysis of gender gaps in labour outcomes”