What This Reveals About Indian Society and Culture

Newsreel Asia Insight #115
Jan. 28, 2024

A working married woman in India, on average, spends over six hours daily to unpaid domestic chores and caregiving activities. In stark contrast, a married man gives merely 42 minutes per day to these tasks. As a result, women have significantly less time than men for self-care, leisure and socialising, as highlighted by a recent study.

Married Indian women spend over 44 hours a week on unpaid domestic work and caregiving activities, compared to just over five hours for men, according to IndiaSpend’s analysis of the government’s 2019 time-use data. This, coupled with a standard 40-hour workweek, means that Indian women engaged in paid work are clocking in roughly 85 hours a week.

The Time Use Survey of 2019, involving 130,289 married men and 134,765 married women who work full-time, reveals that married working women spend 82 minutes less per day on self-care activities compared to their male counterparts, says the IndiaSpend report, explaining that this includes time allocated for essential activities such as sleeping, eating, drinking, personal hygiene, receiving care (such as visits to clinics or salons), leisure pursuits, and social and spiritual care.

The consequences of this imbalance are profound. A lower allocation to leisure and self-care can hinder a woman’s ability to function as a productive worker. It can also impact her ability to build and maintain community connections, leading to isolation.

According to a 2018 report by the International Labour Organization, the unpaid work done by Indian women, which includes domestic chores and caregiving activities, significantly contributes to the broader economy, IndiaSpend notes. The report quantifies their contribution, stating that such unpaid work accounts for 3.1% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the economic value of tasks that are often overlooked because they do not directly generate income.

Further, a 2018 Oxfam report says that the unpaid work done by women effectively subsidises the economy, though not often recognised or valued in monetary terms within the traditional economic frameworks, IndiaSpend points out. The work women do at home supports the workforce (including the men who are part of it) without any direct financial compensation or recognition in national economic indicators.

The Oxfam report also describes this scenario as imposing a “systemic time tax on women,” referring to the disproportionate amount of time women are required to spend on unpaid work, which is not demanded of men to the same extent. This “tax” comes at the cost of women’s time, which could otherwise be used for their personal development, career advancement, leisure or self-care. It’s systemic because it’s ingrained in societal norms and structures, effectively making it a widespread and regular expectation placed on women.

For instance, the norm where men eat first, followed by children, and women last, has been linked to poorer health outcomes for women, as reported by IndiaSpend in 2017. Additionally, the 2012 Indian Human Development Survey highlighted that nearly 80% of women need permission from a family member to visit a health centre.

The disparity in self-care time varies across states, with Arunachal Pradesh reporting the highest gap (151 minutes) and Haryana the lowest (49 minutes).

The issue of self-care is intrinsically linked to the broader discourse on women’s rights and empowerment. The ability to take care of oneself is a fundamental right, and its deprivation is a reflection of the larger gender disparities in society.

The situation shows how traditional expectations continue to dictate the allocation of time and responsibilities, while at the same time undervaluing women’s contributions both within the home and in the wider economy. It calls for a thorough re-evaluation of societal norms and the distribution of domestic responsibilities. And such a re-evaluation ought to be initiated by men, particularly if they regard themselves as responsible human beings.