The document discusses the concept and measurement of women's work, highlighting the significance of women's contributions to both paid and unpaid labor in various sectors, particularly in the context of socio-economic factors, traditional role expectations, and the often-invisible nature of their work. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive measurement of women's work to address gender inequality and includes discussions on the challenges of appropriately accounting for unpaid labor and the declining female labor force participation rate in India. Overall, it calls for policy changes that recognize and value women's contributions to economic and social life.

1. Unit-3: Women Employment and Development

2. Concept and Measurement of
Women's Work
• Work participation is an important indicator of one’s status in the society.
• Women’s work participation has been affected by various socio-economic factors and traditional role
expectations.
• Besides a significant amount of their work has remained invisible and unrecognized.
• Women do various types of work.
• Their household work remains mostly invisible and unrecognized. Here it is essential to categories various
types of work done by women in terms of paid and unpaid work.
• This will give us a broad idea to understand the significance of women’s work both in the family and in the
society.

3. What is Women’s Work?
• According to anthropologists and some historians, women were the major producer of food, textiles and
handicrafts throughout human history and continue to provide a major labour input where production is still in
the small scale subsistence sector.
• Defining the exact nature, scope and magnitude of women’s work remains a problem area because a good deal
of women’s work is either invisible or is only partially accounted for in the data on workforce participation.
• Components of women’s work include housework, paid and unpaid work related to home-based craft
activities, family enterprise or business and paid work outside home. You must have observed differential
work participation of men, women and children within the family both in quantitative and qualitative terms.
The kind of work women do is determined by women’s position in the society and family’s location in the
social hierarchy.

4. 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, 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 usevalue and do not have exchange-value.
• In the agricultural sector small and marginal farmer households utilise family labour as they cannot hire labour
like big landlords. In the non-agricultural sector such as handicrafts, handloom weaving, pottery, food
preservation and processing etc., a large proportion of women are home-based workers.

5. DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN’S
WORK
Structural Factors
Family, Caste, Class and Community
Regional Differences
Labour Market
Environmental Changes and Women’s
Work
Socio-cultural Factors
Values, Norms, Attitudes and Customs:
Family Ideology and Socialisation of Girls
Gender-based Division of Labour
Self-Perception of Need to Work-choice vs.
Compulsion

6. PROCESSES WHICH TRANSFORM
WOMEN’S WORK ROLES
Education and Training
Technological Changes
Access to Land and Other Productive
Resources
Women Producers and Worker’s
Organisation as Pressure Groups
Macro Processes and State Policies

7. Measurement of Women's Work
• Measurement of women's work refers to the systematic assessment and quantification of the various forms of
labor performed by women, both within and outside the formal economy.
• This includes paid employment, unpaid care work such as household chores and caregiving, as well as
voluntary and community work.
• The goal of measuring women's work is to understand the extent, distribution, and value of women's
contributions to economic production and social reproduction, and to identify patterns of gender inequality
and discrimination in the labor market and broader society.
• This measurement is essential for informing policies and interventions aimed at promoting gender equality,
addressing disparities in access to opportunities and resources, and recognizing the full range of women's
economic and social contributions.

8. Measurement of Women's Work
• Recognition of Unpaid Labor: Women have long been engaged in unpaid labor such as caregiving,
domestic chores, and community work. However, this work has historically been undervalued and often
overlooked in traditional economic measurements.
• Unpaid Care Work Framework: The concept of "unpaid care work" has gained prominence in gender
studies. It encompasses activities like cooking, cleaning, childcare, and eldercare. Quantitative methods like
time-use surveys help measure the time and effort women invest in these tasks.
• Quantitative Assessments: Time-use surveys and similar quantitative methods are utilized to assess the
extent and distribution of unpaid care work across different demographics, shedding light on the
disproportionate burden borne by women.

9. Measurement of Women's Work
• Formal Labor Market Participation: Another dimension involves women's participation in the formal
labor market. This includes metrics like employment rates, wages, occupational segregation, and leadership
representation, highlighting gender disparities.
• Gender Wage Gaps: The persistent gender wage gap serves as a key indicator of inequality in the
workforce. Measuring this gap and understanding its causes are essential for addressing economic disparities
between men and women.
• Alternative Economic Frameworks: Feminist economists and sociologists have developed alternative
frameworks such as "social reproduction theory." These frameworks emphasize the essential role of unpaid
caregiving and household labor in sustaining economies.

10. Measurement of Women's Work
• Challenging Traditional Models: These alternative frameworks challenge traditional economic models that
often fail to account for or undervalue women's contributions to economic production and overall well-being.
• Intersectionality: Measurement of women's work also considers intersectionality, recognizing how factors
like race, class, ethnicity, and other social dimensions intersect with gender to shape women's experiences in
the labor market and society.
• Policy Implications: The resurgence of measuring women's work has significant policy implications. It
underscores the need for policies and interventions aimed at recognizing, reducing, and redistributing unpaid
care work, as well as addressing systemic barriers to women's advancement in the formal labor market.
By focusing on these points, researchers and policymakers can better understand the multifaceted nature of women's work
and develop more inclusive and equitable policies and practices.

11. Accounting for women's work
• The problem of underestimation of women’s work in labor force statistics and national income accounts
has been pointed out repeatedly since the 1970s.
• This underestimation has been observed particularly in four general areas of activity: (a) subsistence
production; (b) informal paid work; (c) domestic production and related tasks; (d) volunteer work.
• Even by accepted definitions of labor force, there has been a tendency to underestimate female labor
force participation rates in the first and second areas - as with the case of unpaid family workers in
agriculture or with participants in the informal labor market.
• The main problem in this case consisted in designing more comprehensive and accurate methods of
data collection although some conceptual issues regarding the definition of subsistence production.
• This type of production was not included in any national accounting statistics because it was defined as
falling outside of the economic realm unless performed as some form of remunerated activity.

12. Accounting for women's work
• Boserup (1970) was one of the first authors to point out the importance of women’s subsistence activities,
particularly in rural areas in the predominantly agricultural countries. and the underestimation of such
activities in the conventional methods of national income accounting.
• The influence of the international women’s movement since the 1970s. however, and the subsequent work
carried out in international organizations and academic institutions, has been instrumental in providing
the impetus to analyze and emphasize all aspects of the invisibility of women’s work, including
domestic production.
• The need to deal with the undercounting of women’s work at all levels was given important recognition
in the 1985 Nairobi Conference that culminated the UN Decade for Women.
• Since then, strong support for a more systematic inclusion of statistics on women’s work in national
accounts has been expressed by other international organizations many government officials, and
nongovernmental institutions.

13. Accounting for women's work
• Labor force statistics and national income accounts were historically designed to gather information
about the level of economic activity and changes overtime, and to provide a basis for economic policy
and planning. In capitalist economies, the market has always been viewed as the core of economic activity.
• The typical story about the decrease in GNP when a man marries his wife. her household activities might
not have changed or might even have increased. The reason for this is the notion that unremunerated work
was not to be included in national income. and the person performing it not to be counted as a member of the
labor force because they were not part of the market or paid exchanges of goods and services and therefore
not viewed as economically significant.

14. Need of accounting for women's work
Gender Equality and Fairness
Visibility and Recognition
Policy Formulation and Advocacy
Resource Allocation
Measuring Economic Growth

15. Conceptual and methodological issues in measurement of women's work
Conceptual Issues
Defining Work: Traditional definitions of work often focus on paid employment, neglecting the vast
amount of unpaid work women do, such as housework, childcare, and eldercare. This underestimates
women's overall contribution to society and the economy.
Valuation of Work: Even when unpaid work is acknowledged, it's often not valued equally to paid
work. This creates an invisible burden on women and perpetuates gender inequalities.
Cultural Biases: Gender roles and expectations vary across cultures. Existing frameworks might not
adequately capture the diverse forms of work women engage in across different contexts.

16. Conceptual and methodological issues in measurement of women's work
Invisibility of certain types of work:
Care work: The emotional and physical labor involved in caring for children, elderly family
members, and sick individuals is often not recognized as "work" despite its significant economic and
social value.
Community and volunteer work: Contributions made through unpaid community service or
volunteer work are frequently overlooked, despite their contribution to social well-being and
economic development.
Seasonality and flexibility: Work patterns of women, particularly in rural areas or the informal
sector, often involve seasonal variations or flexible hours, making them difficult to capture in
traditional, standardized data collection methods.

17. Conceptual and methodological issues in measurement of women's work
Measurement of intensity and complexity of work:
Multitasking and time burden: Existing frameworks might not adequately capture
the intensity and complexity of women's work, especially when they engage in multiple tasks
simultaneously or carry a heavy time burden due to various responsibilities.
Mental and emotional labor: The mental and emotional demands associated with certain types of
work, particularly those involving caregiving or emotional support, are often not accounted for in
traditional work measurement tools.

18. Conceptual and methodological issues in measurement of women's work
Methodological Issues:
• Data Collection Methods: Standard methods like labor force surveys often rely on rigid
categories like "employed" or "unemployed," failing to capture the nuances of women's work,
particularly in informal sectors or mixed economies.
• Recall Bias: Self-reported data, a common tool, can be susceptible to recall bias, especially for
unpaid work that might be seen as less valuable or not "real" work.
• Underrepresentation: Sample selection in surveys might not adequately represent diverse
populations, particularly underrepresented groups of women like migrant workers or those in
non-traditional roles.

19. Conceptual and methodological issues in measurement of women's work
Difficulty in capturing time use:
• Standardized surveys: Traditional surveys relying on fixed timeframes might not accurately
capture the fragmented nature of women's work, particularly those engaged in multiple tasks or
working flexible hours.
• Valuation of time: Existing methods might not adequately value the time women dedicate to
unpaid work compared to paid work, perpetuating the undervaluation of their contributions.
Limited data collection in informal sectors:
• Informal economies: Many women, particularly in developing countries, work in the informal
sector where data collection is often limited or unreliable.
• Undercounting of self-employed women: Existing data collection methods
might undercount self-employed women or fail to capture the full extent of their work activities.

20. Conceptual and methodological issues in measurement of women's work
Ethical considerations in data collection:
• Privacy and confidentiality: Collecting data on sensitive topics like unpaid work within
households requires careful consideration of privacy and confidentiality concerns for respondents.
• Power dynamics and voice: Sensitive data collection methods are necessary to ensure that
women feel comfortable and empowered to share their experiences, avoiding the risk of
exploitation or reinforcing existing power imbalances.

21. These issues together contribute to the invisibility and underestimation of women's work, hindering
the understanding of their full contribution to economies and societies. Addressing these challenges
requires:
Redefining work: Expanding definitions to encompass both paid and unpaid activities.
Developing valuation frameworks: Assigning economic and social value to unpaid work.
Utilizing diverse data collection methods: Triangulating data through surveys, time-use studies, and
qualitative methods to capture different work experiences.
Ensuring inclusivity: Designing data collection strategies that reach diverse populations of women.

22. Women's contribution to national economy.

26. Why is female Labour force participation rate
declining in India?

27.  As of 2020, the female labor force participation rate in India stands at around 20%, which is lower than the global average
and significantly lower than the male participation rate.
 The urban female labor force participation rate is higher compared to rural areas, but overall rates remain relatively low.
 Women in India are predominantly employed in the agriculture sector, where they contribute significantly to activities such
as crop cultivation, livestock rearing, and post-harvest processing.
 However, there is a growing trend of women entering non-agricultural sectors such as services, manufacturing, healthcare,
education, and information technology.
 A large proportion of women in India are engaged in informal employment, including informal agricultural work, domestic
work, and small-scale entrepreneurship.
 Informal employment often lacks job security, social protection, and access to benefits such as paid leave and healthcare.
 Women in India perform a significant amount of unpaid care work, including household chores, childcare, and eldercare.
 Women entrepreneurship is on the rise in India, with a growing number of women starting and managing their businesses.