Gender Disparities in Unpaid Domestic and Caregiving Work in India
Sampoorna Nand Gupta *
Department of Statistics, University of Lucknow, India.
Sheela Misra
Department of Statistics, University of Lucknow, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Unpaid domestic and caregiving work constitutes a critical yet invisible component of household functioning and national economies. In India, such work is predominantly undertaken by women, reflecting entrenched gender inequalities. Understanding the extent and patterns of unpaid work is essential to inform policy frameworks aimed at achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG-5) on gender equality.
Methods: This study utilized secondary data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), India for the three years 2020, 2021 and 2022. Statistical analyses included the Chi-square test for associations, Mann-Whitney U test for gender-based comparisons, and one-way ANOVA for age-group differences. Categories examined were unpaid domestic services, unpaid caregiving services, and their rural-urban variations, along with educational level as a covariate.
Results: The Chi-square test revealed a significant association between gender and unpaid domestic as well as caregiving services across both rural and urban areas (p < 0.001). The Mann-Whitney U test confirmed that females had significantly higher mean ranks for all categories of unpaid work compared to males (p < 0.001), while no significant difference was observed with respect to education (p = 0.724). ΑNOVA results indicated no significant variation in unpaid domestic and caregiving services across age groups, except for rural caregiving services, which was statistically significant (p = 0.050). However, education level showed a highly significant difference across groups (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The findings highlight stark gender disparities in unpaid work, with women consistently bearing a disproportionate share of domestic and caregiving responsibilities across rural and urban settings. Age did not substantially influence unpaid work distribution, whereas educational attainment showed significant associations. These results underscore the urgent need for policy interventions that recognize, redistribute, and reduce unpaid work burdens to advance gender equality and align with India's commitments under SDG-5.
Keywords: Gender disparities, unpaid work, domestic services, caregiving services, India