The economics of the 'Labour of Love'

 The economics of the 'Labour of Love'

In most societies, the worth of the person is ascertained by their social station, which in turn, is mostly structured by the job they hold. There are definitive hierarchies that decide the amount of respect accorded to each profession and Homemaking, in most societies, finds itself in the bottom steps of the ladder.

In a patriarchal society like India, where most people socially sanctioned as Women, often do not have any alternative other than take the responsibility of the house work, often all by themselves, whether they are engaged in any other paid work or not.

The statistics reveal as much. A study by the International Labour Organisation states that Men in South Asian households shoulder less than 10% of the total volume of the unpaid labour. Another study by the same organisation says, Men spent an average of 31 minutes (per day) in domestic work whereas Women spent 297 minutes (per day).

The fact that home making gives economically significant contributions to the GDP is undisputed. In that case, it is sensible that there be some expected returns to such a taxing service undertaken by an overwhelming proportion of women as their Vocation. 

History of Her-story

The fact that a lot of discomfort is still the norm when this discussion takes place in the present day, was brought to light with the recent declaration in Makkal Needhi Maiam's election manifesto. The party, founded by actor KamalHassan, promised to monetise household work and thus raise the dignity of womenfolk. The kind of reactions it received hinted at the imbibed sexism in the society. From equating a homemakers job to the sex taken part in, to patronising women engaged in it,( "they wouldn't want money. All they want is Love and respect", "Responsibility of the Mother", "Women can Do it all, because we consider them Goddesses"), the internet has a wide range of opinions.

The historical perspective of this debate gives more clarity. The bygone days, characterised by Agrarian economies, saw wages primarily in kind. There was no standardised global system of remuneration. This was the period when Division of labour, with the Man taking care of the upkeep of the family and the Woman managing the household was the norm.

These changed, and Irreversibly, in the periods of Industrialisation. Wages were paid in Cash, it could be standardised and more and more women had to enter the workforce. 

'The cult of domesticity' then manipulated the social vision into degrading the Working woman. The Upper class woman, placed on a pedestal, required to be managing only the homemaking, too delicate to go into the cruel world and the wholesale dealer of values of piety, grace et al. was seen as more desirable than a Working woman who earned wages and was of lower class.

The 'Housewife' was the ideal that everybody aspired to. Men wanted to 'not trouble' their wives by making them earn and women's income became a stepney for the smooth ride of the family finances.

This denial of agency was seen as the norm as days passed and in the present when women aspire for a choice, to listen to Their hearts and brains it is seen as the Outrageous rebellion.

Merits of the Wage system

1. It will ensure a Universal basic income and grant more financial authority to the dependent spouse, a first step to the provision of individual Agency.
2. It will be a progressive step in the direction of acknowledging the contribution of homemakers, which is often taken for granted.
3. It will boost the family income and raise the standard of living for most families below the poverty line.
4. It will be a first and deciding step towards financial autonomy and a tackling of sexism in the Household.

Criticism (albeit sensible)

1. It could discourage women to provide explicit, paid market services and could further drag down the Labour force participation ratio of women and thus rob India of a much needed GDP boost. 
2. It could lead to increased societal pressure to drop other higher paying vocations or a perusal of their passions, because of the given earnings. 
3. It could lead to the firing of house helps and increase the burden on Homemakers.
4. Logistics of the proposal, like who can fund such an enormous scheme, and where does the money come from and whether the governments can afford such a huge transfer are still to be worked out.

Finding ways Out.

The logistics of the proposal except for some prominent questions have already been answered by the Indian judiciary. When people expire due to accidents,the judiciary, when deciding compensation, weighs the worth of the Homemaker victim as the sum of the Opportunity cost of the decision to take up Homemaking by equating it to minimum wage standards for skilled and unskilled labour, educational qualifications of the expired, their age and the size of the family. In December 2020, the family of a 33 year old homemaker received 1.7 million as compensation when the monetary equivalent was fixed at Rs.5000 per month.

If this is too much of a burden, it could also be equated to the estimated cost of living of the homemaker spouse, which used to be funded by the working spouse.

The prominent question of Who funds the exercise is perhaps more complicated. While direct transfers can work as a short term solution, it would cause a huge burden for the government if undertaken for perpetuity. So while providing women with basic income, concrete efforts should also be taken to encourage their participation and integration into the mainstream workforce, thus boosting our country's economy.

As is evident from the criticism, a mere transfer of money does not magically undo all the sexism since ages. It requires a radical shift in thought process, increased gender sensitisation and recognition of the value of the individual. This, from the present, can be, somewhat pessimistically, visualised as the never reachable horizon.

Sources

1. bbc.com - How India calculates the value of Women's housework
2. m.thewire.in - Should there be wages for Housework
3. mobile.reuters.com - Wages for Housewives: Party's manifesto pledge stirs debate in India
4. m.timesofindia - Should Housework be a salaried profession
5. m.economictimes.com - How much salary should a Homemaker get?

PS :  Originally written for 'GirlUp×GirlforGirl' Blog.