NEW DELHI: Young Indian girls are spending more time than boys on domestic chores like cooking, cleaning and caregiving duties, which is impacting their education and learning, according to a UNICEF report.
It said that one in five children, or 20 per cent, are engaged in unpaid domestic services, with more girls involved in these domestic chores said the report ‘Time spent on unpaid domestic and caregiving services by children in India: Insights into gender, age and learning.”
Based on India’s Time Use Survey 2019 (TUS 2019) by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the report said girls spend, on average, 134 minutes per day on unpaid domestic services - almost 70 per cent more time than boys, who spend 79 minutes per day.
“A significantly higher percentage of girls (32.9 per cent) engage in unpaid domestic activities compared with boys (9.1 per cent),” said the report, which is the first of its kind paper based on time use data.
Speaking with this paper, Dr Ellina Samantroy, the report's lead author, said, “The findings state that domestic and unpaid care work undertaken by girls when carried out for longer hours can disrupt their learning and affect their overall well-being.”
She said this impacts their learning process after school hours as they are engaged in these activities, affecting their overall learning.
“They cannot engage in doing homework, sports, etc, which is a part of their overall learning process,” said Samantroy, a Fellow of V.V.Giri National Labour Institute.
According to the report, girls mainly engage in cooking and cleaning – tasks that, according to social norms, boys are not expected to do. The participation rate of girls (21.9 per cent) in food preparation is much higher than boys (2.3 per cent). Similarly, girls (18.3 per cent) are seven times more likely than boys (2.6 per cent) to clean and maintain their dwellings.
It also found that most children in the age group of 15-17 years are more involved in domestic work than younger children in the age group of 6–14 years. Younger children spend less time (95 minutes per day) on domestic activities than adolescents (124 minutes per day).
Over 21 per cent of children in rural areas are involved in domestic chores compared to 15.7 per cent in urban areas.
Also, only 6.4 per cent of children participated in caregiving services, with girls once again involved more in babysitting their younger siblings.
The survey found a clear bias towards boys who mostly did outdoor work like shopping for the family and travelling, moving, transporting or accompanying goods.
For both domestic and caregiving services, gender differences slightly increase with age. While in both age groups (6–14 years and 15–17 years), participation in domestic work is about four times higher for girls than boys; caregiving services are 1.3 times higher for girls than boys.
Boys and girls involved in unpaid domestic and caregiving services spend about 11% less time on learning. Older children aged 15–17 years who are engaged in these services spend about 16 per cent less time on learning than those who are not.
The burden of unpaid work on the children is compounded by climate-related risks, financial crises and infrastructure breakdowns, leading to increased toil for women in providing for their families. Traditional gender norms also contribute to the disproportionate involvement of adolescent girls in household tasks, particularly in food and meal management, which can hurt their health and education, the report added.
The survey found that girls involved in unpaid domestic and caregiving services are about 22 per cent less likely to participate in learning than those not involved, representing a reduction in learning participation of about 24 per cent.
“Neglecting the burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving services on children can have substantial negative implications, including reduced participation in and time spent on learning and difficulties transitioning to the adult labour market. These challenges are especially relevant for girls due to their higher engagement in domestic and caregiving services,” the report said.
It suggested several policy actions to reduce the burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving services on India’s children, especially girls. Firstly, it suggested, investment is needed in services that reduce household domestic work burdens in rural areas, including access to water, electrification, roads and infrastructure, and safe public transportation.
Also, it suggested providing access to affordable childcare services that can alleviate the burden on children who often care for younger siblings.
It emphasised social protection programmes, such as cash transfers, to reduce the need for children’s labour at home by providing financial support to families.
“The government should also implement programmes that promote gender equality in household responsibilities, encouraging boys to participate equally in domestic tasks. Interventions with parents and caregivers, community leaders and other stakeholders have the potential to change societal attitudes and norms regarding the division of labour within households and emphasise that education is a priority for all children,” it added.
The report also said that the findings are especially relevant in post-pandemic conditions. “Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown exacerbated the challenges faced by women and girls about care responsibilities, including, for instance, taking more time to collect water due to restricted access to resources,” it added.
“Further, school closures and parental job losses introduced new challenges for children, particularly girls, who likely faced increased care responsibilities. The economic consequences of COVID-19 also translated to an estimated 47 million women and girls at risk of falling into extreme poverty, potentially exacerbating the burden of unpaid care work,” the report said.