Gender Inequities in India’s Care Work

Context

Care work, encompassing both paid and unpaid activities related to caregiving and domestic responsibilities, remains heavily gendered in India. Women disproportionately bear this burden, often under poor pay and precarious work conditions. 

The Gendered Nature of Care Work in India

• Unpaid Care Work: The Invisible Backbone: Indian women spend nearly ten times more time than men on unpaid domestic and caregiving tasks, as revealed by Time Use Surveys (2019 and 2024). On average, women dedicate over 4 hours daily to unpaid care, compared to about 1.5 hours by men globally, with the gap even wider in India. This unpaid labor, valued at approximately ₹22.7 lakh crore annually, largely goes unrecognized in economic statistics despite its critical contribution to household and national well-being.
• Paid Care Work: Informality and Inequality: India’s paid care sector employs around 36 million workers, with women constituting 56.6% of this workforce. However, most paid care jobs—especially in personal care services—are informal, lacking legal protections, social security, and decent wages. Nearly 99% of personal care jobs are informal, and about 97% lack written contracts. Marginalized communities such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes form over two-thirds of this workforce, reflecting deep structural inequities.

Challenges Faced by Women in Care Work

• Precarious Employment and Poor Working Conditions: Despite a majority having ‘regular employment,’ job security remains elusive, especially in the unorganized sector that employs 43% of care workers. Informality is rampant, with limited access to paid leave—only about half of care workers receive it, and in personal services, this figure drops below 20%. These conditions exacerbate the vulnerability of women care workers.
• Gender Wage Gap and Occupational Segregation: Significant gender wage disparities persist across care sectors. Self-employed women earn less than men, with a 61% wage gap even among this group. Men often occupy higher-paying roles such as doctors or administrators, while women are concentrated in lower-paid caregiving or support roles like nursing or early childhood education. Domestic and personal services, largely unregulated, show the widest wage gaps and poorest protections.
• Time Poverty and Double Burden: Women engaged in paid work still perform nearly six times more unpaid care work than employed men. This double burden limits their opportunities for education, career advancement, and leisure, reinforcing gender inequality. The skewed division of unpaid work also leads to ‘time poverty,’ disproportionately affecting married women and pushing many out of the workforce after marriage.
• Implications for Society and Economy: The undervaluation and invisibility of women’s care work undermine gender equality and economic growth. With India’s aging population projected to reach 20 crore by 2031, demand for elder care and specialized services will surge, requiring a robust care infrastructure. Without addressing gender inequities, the care economy will continue to perpetuate poverty, marginalization, and social exclusion among women.

Policy Recommendations to Address Gender Inequities

• Recognition and Measurement: Conduct dedicated national surveys on unpaid care work to quantify women’s contributions accurately and inform policy.
• Investment in Care Infrastructure: Expand affordable, high-quality childcare, eldercare, and community health services to reduce women’s unpaid care burden and generate formal employment.
• Redistribution of Care Responsibilities: Promote shared caregiving through awareness campaigns, paid parental and elder leave policies to challenge entrenched gender norms.
• Formalization and Empowerment of Paid Care Workers: Recognize care work as skilled labor, formalize employment, ensure fair wages, and provide legal protections. Implement training and upskilling programs targeting women in health, education, and personal care sectors.
• Bridging Gender Wage Gaps: Enforce equal pay for equal work, create career pathways for women to move into supervisory and professional roles, and expand access to education and vocational training.
• Planning for Future Care Needs: Anticipate demographic changes by aligning training, employment policies, and infrastructure development with future care demands.
• Systemic and Societal Engagement: Foster multi-stakeholder collaboration involving government, private sector, and communities to build a gender-sensitive care system.

Conclusion

The gender inequities in India’s care work sector reflect deep-rooted social norms and structural barriers that confine women to unpaid and poorly paid roles. Addressing these disparities is vital not only for women’s empowerment but also for sustainable economic development and social justice. Comprehensive policy reforms focused on recognition, redistribution, formalization, and investment in care infrastructure can transform the care economy into a domain of dignity, equity, and opportunity for all.

Source: BL

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