Stuck at (unpaid) work

Millions of people in Pakistan face the additional responsibility of care work. According to a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 117.4 million people here are engaged in unpaid care and domestic work, including 66.7 million (or 56.8 per cent of) women. This imbalance has deprived women of much-needed financial opportunities and the freedom of time for themselves. On the occasion of the International Day of Care and Support (October 29), the ILO stressed that Pakistan needs coordinated efforts and greater investment to strengthen and transform its care economy. Almost all households have women caring for either the elderly or children. According to the ILO, women remain overrepresented in nearly all unpaid domestic and care roles, including cooking, cleaning, livestock tending and childcare. Around 60 per cent of women spend more than 15 hours a week on domestic work, compared with less than 7.0 per cent of men. Women also devote more time to caring for children, the elderly and the sick. This, per the ILO, creates ‘time and opportunity poverty’ for women.

There are two reasons for this skewed delegation of duties. First, most of our workplaces are designed against women workers with no flexibility on timing or hybrid work. Recently, the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (FOSPAH) ruled that maternity leaves are a woman’s right. Usually, most women have to choose between motherhood and career with many being deliberately ignored for promotions under assumptions that their personal milestones will interfere with their career. Besides ridiculous clauses in work contracts, women also do not have access to affordable daycares where they can leave their children. The second reason for women’s involvement in care and domestic work is our neglected care economy. Professions like nursing, physiotherapy and shadow assistants for the elderly or the disabled are silently disappearing. The available few charge a steep monthly amount, which is unaffordable for the majority. The country clearly needs an overhaul of the care economy.

Career counselling at schools and colleges can help children decide if they want to enter a profession where they can contribute more towards humanity. Government-backed and licensed firms should be in charge of hiring these individuals and sending them to the required households, reducing the risk of theft and other financial frauds. Like Qatar, where mothers working in the federal government are allowed to work two hours less per day, Pakistan should introduce similar incentives for women. Half of our population is women and most of them rarely step out of the house once they are done with their studies, usually dependent on their fathers or husbands or brothers. The fact that only 37 million women have bank accounts shows how far behind women are financially; this too is an achievement as the number has significantly increased from 20 million in 2021. Naturally, lack of financial autonomy also means that women cannot hire care workers or domestic help even if they want to. This report should be a starting point for our authorities to introduce the reforms necessary to rebuild and strengthen our care economy.