Homemakers and their pay

The welfare of women comes forward as an impending topic at every political debate, educational conference, or newspaper headline. It remains at the foremost of all political agendas and electoral manifestos. Yet the question remains, that in a country where 90% of women participate in unpaid domestic work at home, in comparison to only 27% of men, then how can their welfare be further increased or realized?

According to the International labor organization, around the world, women spend a large amount of time in unpaid work, ranging from a maximum of 345 minutes (about 6 hours) per day in Iraq to 168 minutes per day in Taiwan. On the other hand, men spend a meager 83 minutes in unpaid care work while women spend three times more at 265 minutes (about 4 and a half hours). India’s 160 million homemakers, like many others in other parts of the world, invest a large amount of time in cleaning, tidying, cooking, and managing family finances.

Economics books, around the world, recognize the work of homemakers as the “Labour of Love”. Their contribution to the economy is seldom counted as productive, yet, in reality, it is their contribution that helps increase the production manifold of an economy, it is what essentially keeps the economy stable.

In the present age, people, or specifically, the younger generation tend to look down upon the works of a homemaker, the mention of ‘homemaker’ as a career, is often frowned upon. What they fail to understand is that it is the work of homemakers that provides us with conditions in which we are more able to focus on our work, and we fail to acknowledge it when it is most needed. Perhaps a payment of salary can increase the much-required gratitude that is presented for these indispensable services provided to them. It will help us understand and realize the importance of these services, making them even more valuable, and also providing these services with a sense of pride that currently remains absent. Further, it will also instill in these homemakers a sense of fulfillment when they know that they have been able to contribute to their family, not only in services but also in the much-required monetary assets.

If they do not have money, how will they carry on their work? How will it be possible for them to manage the household as efficiently as possible? In India, a majority of women tend to restrict themselves towards household duties, as a residue of the patriarchal society is previously prevalent. They often lack the privilege to even think about a different source of income. The payment of salary to them will not only increase their economic welfare but will also come forward as an incentive to all these women and even men, who will, with these added privileges, be attracted to this particular profession, hence turning this highly female-oriented career path to open to men as well.

The question then comes forward as to who will be paying the salary. The closest anybody came to answering this question, was in 2012 when Krishna Tirath, the then Women and Child Development minister, considered a proposal that the work of homemakers is quantified and remunerated by their spouses. This was a flawed argument, at best. This stance presumed that the onus of the labor fell upon the spouse, conversely meaning that the spouse was the owner. The proposal also reflected the stance of the state to shrug off all responsibility on this matter. Besides, mandatory payment by the husband to his wife would do little in increasing the household's income.

Recently, in the 2020 election in India, politician Kamal Hassan promised salaries to homemakers for their unrecognized and unmonetized work. Further, Last year, during a ruling, the Supreme Court asserted that a woman’s work at home must be seen as equal to that of her office-going husband. It added that the labor of homemakers contributes to the economic condition of the family, and thereby to the economy of the nation, but did not specify this value.

Thus, it can be rightfully concluded, that due to their selfless work at all hours of the day, homemakers should be paid a salary by the government. However, another question does come to mind. How much should the salary of a homemaker be? A homemaker contributes to the shaping of their children, helping with school, cooking for their loved ones, or even listening to the troubles of their family members, a homemaker's job is endless and cannot be measured in any specific monetary value. However, if we were to put a price on it, perhaps, a starting point can be to pay them for essential jobs that are done daily, such as shopping for groceries, cooking, cleaning, maintaining finances, nursing the elderly and children, etc. There have been many platforms where this specific cause has been taken up. The financing services have started recognizing the economic value of a homemaker's labor. An interesting policy came up recently when a private insurer launched a standalone salary payment plan for homemakers that is essential for households that will not be capable of soaking in the additional financial burden of managing the household in the homemaker's absence. This policy, I believe, will serve as a way in which the importance of their work can be more efficiently realized.

Thus, to conclude, it is of the utmost importance to value the work and labor of those people who form more than the majority of the population. It is only fair to let them have their share of the national income of their country. It is even more important to give them the respect and recognition that they deserve, and paying them a salary, no matter what the amount might accumulate, will be the first step towards increasing their dignity. It would, perhaps, help us reach a stage where no one in this world would ever have to be embarrassed to write ‘HOMEMAKER’ as their profession.

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