3.2. Unpaid Work in Home-Based Production and Family Farms
Economists distinguish between production for self-consumption and production for the market. Only the latter is counted as ‘work’. The parameters of work used in official data reflect this bias. Much of the work that women do in household industries and processing of agricultural products, if unpaid, is not recognised as ‘work’ in the data systems.
In rural areas the women from the poorer households engage in various activities such as cooking, processing of food for household consumption, storing grains, childcare, fetching fuelwood, fodder and water, collection of forest produce, preparation of cow dung cakes, care of livestock and cattle and house repair and maintenance. Much of this work, which is important for the maintenance of families, is largely done by women. However, this work is unpaid and is not accounted for as productive work as it is meant for self-consumption. The conventional definition of ‘work’ does not include activities, which are of ‘use-value’ and do not have ‘exchange-value’.
Activities like dairying, small animal husbandry (poultry, piggery, goatery etc.) fisheries, handloom weaving, handicrafts, pottery etc. are family activities and every member assists in some aspects of production. A major part of the work is done within the home and yet a woman is not accorded the status of a worker. Non-valuation of women’s unpaid work within the home results in non-recognition of women’s crucial economic contribution.
Quantifying Women’s Work in GDP Quantifying women's work in GDP:
♤ Women play a very important role in households, but their contribution is not a part of the GDP calculation and hence goes unnoticed or rather not quantified
♤ This is because it is very difficult to quantify the work done by women.
♤ In the contemporary society, working women are facing double exploitation because they are forced to do the household work even after working at homes.
♤ This quantification of women's work is important for them to gain recognition, and for their roles to be given more importance.
♤ If this cannot be quantified, then atleast there needs to be more value given to their work.
