2 weeks ago
Women's Caregiving Work Is Never 'Just' a Hobby
A woman wrote about something a friend said to her.
The friend said her job was 'just for pocket money.'
That means the friend did not think the work was very important.
The woman felt this was unfair.
Her story also talks about a big court in India.
The court said that taking care of a home and family is very valuable work.
The court said this work is worth about 30,000 rupees every month.
The woman used to be a teacher for more than twenty years before she left to take care of her family.
She wants everyone to understand that caring for people teaches patience and problem-solving, and that this work really matters.
The Supreme Court of India described homemakers as "nation builders" and assigned a notional value of Rs 30,000 per month to unpaid domestic labour in a motor accident compensation case.
The writer, a life coach, says a friend dismissed her new career as "just for pocket money."
She argues that stepping away from paid work to care for family is a transfer of work, not an absence of work.
According to the writer, caregiving years build judgement, patience, crisis management, and emotional intelligence, not gaps to apologise for.
She calls for recognition to go beyond the court judgment, including changes in how résumés are read and how interview panels are trained.
- Who
- The Supreme Court of India and the writer, a life coach and former academic
- What
- A Supreme Court judgment valuing unpaid domestic labour, and an essay arguing that women's caregiving and later-life careers are undervalued
- Where
- India
- When
- Recent judgment; the article provides no specific date
- Why
- To formally recognise the economic and social value of unpaid domestic work and to challenge the assumption that women's later-life work is just a hobby
Recognising caregiving as real work
Dismissing caregiving as 'just' a hobby
Value of unpaid domestic labour
Recognising caregiving as real work
Running a household, raising children, and supporting family is real economic and social work, as the Supreme Court's notional value of Rs 30,000 per month acknowledges.
Dismissing caregiving as 'just' a hobby
Women's home-based and later-life work is often treated as "just a housewife" or "just for pocket money," rather than as serious professional work.
Women returning to paid work later in life
Recognising caregiving as real work
Caregiving years build judgement, patience, crisis management, and emotional intelligence, so returning women bring skills no training programme can teach.
Dismissing caregiving as 'just' a hobby
Employers often treat unpaid years as a liability and age as a ceiling, discarding a deep, underused reserve of skill.
Key facts
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Ruling
- Homemakers described as "nation builders"
- Notional monthly value of unpaid domestic labour
- Rs 30,000
- Legal context
- Calculating compensation in a motor accident case
- Writer's profession
- Life coach
- Writer's background
- More than two decades in academia
- Prompt for the essay
- A friend's remark that the writer's work was "just for pocket money"
Quotes
Supreme Court of India
Judicial body that recently assigned a monetary value to unpaid domestic labour
“"just for pocket money"”
indianexpress.com
“"nation builders"”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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