How does unpaid labour uphold the patriarchy?

When considering the UK workforce, we immediately think of office workers, manual labourers, or business owners – but we are often remiss in our appreciation of unpaid domestic labour. Also known as care work, it plays a key role in maintaining our society. It includes looking after children, the elderly, and those with illnesses or disabilities, but also daily domestic work such as cooking, cleaning, and washing. In some parts of the world, this also involves collecting water and firewood.

Typically, both men and women will shoulder some domestic responsibility in the household. However, much of this burden is still shouldered by women. The UN has reported that globally, women do at least two-and-a-half times more household and care work than men.

In 1987, just under half the population – 48% – still believed that a man’s main job was to earn money, and a woman’s was to look after the home. By 2022 that had plummeted to 9%. Although this binary in gender roles has been eroded over the past few decades, these stereotypes are far from being eradicated and are still a source of inequality today. Wealthier demographics can afford to outsource much of their domestic labour, whereas those on lower incomes cannot. This typically leads to women shouldering the domestic burden in low-income households, which effectively cuts the household’s gross income in half.

As the cost of childcare has ballooned in recent years, this has placed financial strain on families, disincentivising people from having children. These barriers to parenthood can stunt potential growth in the workforce and economy, by decreasing the future amount of both labour and consumption.

The economic value of domestic work varies significantly from person to person, making it hard to measure

It is essential to change the way that we view and acknowledge unpaid labour. Incorporating this labour into our GDP is not necessarily a viable solution to recognise it, as the economic value of domestic work varies significantly from person to person, making it hard to measure.

Although it is societally valuable, domestic labour within the home will not contribute to the economy more if it is monetised. Women often take up the burden of domestic care as they cannot afford to maintain their homes in any other way.

For many people, as the cost of living has increased and necessities such as water, food, and electricity remain priorities, paid domestic labour, such as cleaning and childcare, is getting pushed down the list to become a want rather than a need. Domestic labour completed by the women of the household is so valuable to families because it is free.

They can help their families when the government cannot, but should women’s domestic obligations be normalised as personal responsibility?

More affordable access to childcare is a necessity

Compensation for this unpaid labour as wages by the hour would place incomprehensible strain on the government. Regardless, there needs to be more pathways for women. More affordable access to childcare is a necessity. This would lower the barrier to entry for women to enter the workforce, as they would no longer need to prioritise childcare and could outsource some of this work.

In the 20th century, feminist movements arguing for equal treatment, the right to vote, and the right to work resulted in women being better paid for their labour. However, ignorance of the domestic labour expected to be completed alongside this is widespread, showing how far we still have to go with the issue of equal rights. We need to acknowledge unpaid labour, and the role that it plays in maintaining traditional and restrictive gender roles.