Archive · 24 Jun 2025
Indian Women Undertake Disproportionate Unpaid Labor, Analysis Shows
In India, women do much more unpaid work at home, like taking care of family and chores, compared to men.
This work is important, like a hidden part of the economy, but it's not always valued.
Men mainly help with things outside the home.
Women often don't have a choice in doing this work.
Sometimes, women face violence if they don't do these jobs perfectly.
While participation in home tasks goes up as people get richer, help with caring for others goes down.
Even when women work for money, they still spend more time on these unpaid jobs.
Indian women spend significantly more time on unpaid domestic and caregiving work than men.
Women's unpaid work contributes an estimated 3.1% to India's GDP but often goes unrecognized.
Male participation in domestic work is concentrated in outdoor activities like shopping and travel.
Employed women spend less time on unpaid work, but more time on employment-related activities compared to men.
Attitudes persist where some women are physically beaten for failing at domestic tasks.
- Who
- Indian women and men, the Time Use Survey participants, and the researchers at IndiaSpend.
- What
- Analysis of data shows Indian women spend more time on unpaid labor than men, impacting the economy and reflecting societal attitudes.
- When
- Data from the Time Use Survey 2024 was analyzed, with prior reports from 2019, 2020, and 2021 cited.
- Where
- India, with regional variations noted in male participation across different states.
- Why
- To highlight the significant disparity in unpaid labor between genders and its impact on economic activity and societal norms.
Societal Norms
Evolving Perspectives
Gender Roles
Societal Norms
Traditional societal expectations place primary responsibility for domestic and caregiving work on women.
Evolving Perspectives
Increasing awareness and calls for greater sharing of domestic responsibilities between genders.
- GDP Contribution (Unpaid Work)
- 3.1%
- Global Unpaid Care Work Hours (Daily)
- 12.5 billion
- Estimated Value of Global Unpaid Care Work (Annually)
- $10.8 trillion
- Women Spending More Time Than Men
- 150% more
- Women beaten for not preparing meals for males
- 41%