Hyderabad: According to the research conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), ‘Care Work and Care jobs for the Future of Decent Work’, in June 2018, a whopping 78.2 per cent of women in India stay out of the labour force just because of the unpaid care work that they are involved in.
In comparison only 2.9 per cent men stay outside labour force for the same reason. On an average, man spends 55 minutes in care work, whereas a woman spends 107 minutes.
Most capable women are caught in the loop of unpaid work and also suffer guilt for not performing their ‘duties’ correctly at home.
Speaking about the issue, Ms Varsha Bhargavi, Organiser for #Iwillgoout campaign who also works for the state’s labour department, said, “In our country, importance is given more to the woman’s married life than her career. In this patriarchal society, the upbringing is such that young girls grow up thinking they are expected to perform household duties as caregiver to the family, giving attention to the in-laws, sharing responsibilities. Therefore they dedicate most of their time to this unpaid care work. Women are prone to doing emotional and unfair labour and in most cases, that work is not even acknowledged.”
She added that women also face discrimination in their careers. Though women are qualified, they are discriminated against owing to their gender.
Usually, whenever it comes to transfers, the entire family does not shift with the woman, but when it comes to the transfer of man, most of the times, the family shifts. Because of this unseen labour, the women are losing their positions in lead teams.
A domestic violence victim, who did not want to be named said, “My husband used to abuse and manhandle me if I ever asked him to sweep the floor, stating that it was always the woman’s duty to do such work.”
