Women do the lion’s share of domestic work, for no pay: Study

Europe – Women and young girls do a lot of work without any payment. A survey, conducted by the Universities of East Anglia (UEA), Birmingham and Brunel, revealed that women do tons of unpaid work.

According to the report, young women and girls across India do the lions’ share of various household chores and care duties with no pay.

The research team examined data from a longitudinal cohort study of childhood poverty and household chores and care duties of 12,000 children and young women between 8 to 22 years of age from India, Ethiopia, Peru and Vietnam. The report reportedly found that nearly 80 per cent of women participated in unpaid domestic work across all states in India.

Young girls spend more time on household chores

According to a recent UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) report, young girls spend 40 per cent more time on household chores than young boys. Unequal shares of household work have affected young women.

Dr Vasilakos, associate professor of Sustainable Business Economics and Public Policy at UEA’s Norwich Business School, said, “Unequal participation in household work starts at a young age.” Young boys or men do not contribute to household chores. Young girls often start doing household chores from a young age.

Professor Fiona Carmichael, Professor of Labour Economics at Birmingham Business School, claimed that when young girls give more time to household chores, they don’t get time to study.

The research also claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated gender inequalities in the labour market. Young women ended up shouldering the lions’ share of domestic work without any payment or appreciation.

Patriarchal norms and sexist mentalities, alongside a general lack of political freedoms, have normalized gender inequalities. Women’s low participation in the business and labour market has added to existing inequality gaps. These women do domestic work without getting any kind of remuneration.