Mains Practice Questions

Approach :

• Define care work and its economic invisibility.
• Explain how recognising care work is crucial for inclusive labour markets.
• Conclude with a suitable way forward.

Introduction:

Care work—both unpaid (household chores, child-rearing, elder care) and paid (domestic workers, caregivers, nurses)—forms the hidden backbone of economies. Yet, it remains undervalued and invisible in labour statistics. In India, women spend 299 minutes daily on unpaid care compared to men’s 97 minutes (NSSO Time Use Survey, 2019). This imbalance directly affects the Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), which is only 41.7% in 2023-24 (PLFS).

Body:

Care Work as Invisible Scaffolding

• Economic invisibility: Excluded from GDP despite being a significant contributor to human capital formation.
  • According to the ILO (2018), women perform 76.2% of unpaid care work worldwide, contributing nearly $10 trillion annually if monetised.
• Foundation of productivity: Enables male-dominated formal workforce participation by sustaining households.
  • As per the McKinsey Global Institute report, reducing women’s unpaid work and ensuring equitable participation could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.
• Gendered dimension: Perceived as “natural” women’s duty, reinforcing stereotypes and limiting their labour market entry.
  • The ILO estimates the care economy could generate 475 million jobs by 2030 globally.

Recognition Care Work Can Reshape Labour Markets

• Creating Formal Care Economy Jobs:
  • Expansion of childcare, elderly care, and healthcare sectors.
  • Expansion of Anganwadis, crèches, and community childcare under ICDS and National Creche Scheme.
• Redistribution of Care Work:
  • Encouraging paternity leave and flexible work policies can redistribute unpaid care responsibilities.
  • Example: Sweden’s shared parental leave improved gender equality in workplaces.
• Raising Female LFPR:
  • Access to affordable childcare frees women for formal employment.
    • Expansion of tax rebates for caregiving expenses and incentives for corporates to provide workplace crèches (already mandated under the Maternity Benefit Act, 2017).
  • Social security for domestic workers integrates informal caregivers into labour markets.
    • Schemes like the e-Shram portal and Domestic Workers Welfare Boards can extend pensions, insurance, and minimum wages.
  • Nordic countries provide universal childcare, boosting LFPR to 70%+ for women.
• Skill Development & Professionalisation:
  • Training programmes for caregivers, nurses, and domestic helpers under the Skill India Mission.
  • Global demand for caregivers, especially in ageing societies like Japan and Europe, can open migration opportunities for Indian women.

Conclusion:

As Nobel laureate Amartya Sen observed, “Gender inequality is a pervasive factor that operates in many different ways and through a variety of social and economic institutions.” Thus, recognising care work is not an act of charity but a matter of economic justice and gender justice. By integrating care into labour markets, India can enhance female LFPR and unlock its demographic dividend.