Household tasks notably limit women's scope for paid work

Household care responsibilities significantly affect women's scope to participate in paid work near or outside home, according to a new research.

According to it, 81 per cent of women identified household duties as the main reason for their non-participation in work, while 48 per cent of men identified educational factors.

The research findings suggest that joint families provide women with greater opportunities to work outside the home through shared care responsibilities.

Dr. Sajeda Amin, Senior Research Advisor of Sajida Foundation, shared the research report at a seminar titled "Care Responsibilities and Women's Work in Bangladesh". Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) organised the programme at its Conference Room in the city's Agargaon area on Monday.

Deputy Representative of UN Women Navanita Sinha was the chief guest of the event, moderated by BIDS Director General (DG) A K Enamul Haque.

BIDS Research Director Kazi Iqbal, its Post-doctoral Fellow Umme Busra Fateha Sultana, and former Research Director Rushidan Islam Rahman spoke as discussants.

The study analysed women's work in Bangladesh in the context of their roles in fulfilling care responsibilities within the household, which extend beyond childcare to household management, and taking care of elderly, sick, physically challenged, or injured household members.

Drawing on representative national data from the 2016 Labour Force Survey (LFS), time spent on such responsibilities was recognised as having important implications for women's labour market outcomes.

According to the research findings, women spend three to four times more hours on domestic chores than men. Women also face double burden of productive and domestic work.

The researchers stressed that policy support should not be limited to the formal sector alone, but must also address the informal and gig economy opportunities, where many women find more flexible work arrangements.

"Our results highlight considerations of care-work for labour market-related outcomes as well as necessity of addressing these in the labour policy," the study concluded.

Speaking on the occasion, the BIDS DG said the barriers for women vary depending on their locations - urban and rural - and also underscored the need for localised solution, rather than mere replication of foreign ideas.

"All the compliant garments factories have day-care centres as per the foreign buyers' requirements. But, a separate study has revealed that many factories have such centres without any children."

A female garment worker on an average walks 1.5-2.0 kilometres from her home to workplace, and so it is difficult for her to carry a child such a distance. Near-home day-care centres would have been more useful, he added.

Rushidan Islam Rahman underscored the need for generating more employment opportunities for both and women.

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