Topic: 2024-Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
Country: Ethiopia
Delegate Name: Zaara Syed
Committee: UN Women
Topic: Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
Country: Ethiopia
School: Portage Central High School
The delegation of Ethiopia recognizes the significant role that unpaid care and domestic play in the social and economic development of society. This invisible labor, which is frequently underappreciated, unacknowledged, and mostly unseen in national economic accounting systems, falls on Ethiopian women and girls. While unpaid care and domestic work – which includes things like cooking, cleaning, raising children, and gathering materials – are essential to the operation of households and communities, they are sometimes disregarded when formulating policies. As the Ethiopian nation, resolving the disparities present in this work is crucial to attaining equality, lowering poverty, and guaranteeing sustainable development.
In Ethiopia, as in many countries, unpaid care and domestic work have traditionally been viewed as women’s work. According to the International Labour Organization, women in Ethiopia spend an average of 4.2 hours per day on unpaid domestic and care work, compared to 1.5 hours per day for men. This gender gap in time use is particularly pronounced in rural areas. As a result, women’s unpaid care and domestic labor have not been incorporated into national economic planning, despite their essential role in sustaining households and enabling men to participate in the formal labor market.
Ethiopia recognizes the vital importance of addressing unpaid care and domestic work in the quest for gender equality. While progress has been made in advancing women’s rights and empowering women economically, the burden of unpaid care work remains a major challenge that limits the economic and social advancement of women, particularly in rural areas. The unequal distribution of care work significantly contributes to this disparity, as women are often forced to balance caregiving responsibilities with paid work, leading to time poverty and increased vulnerability to exploitation in the workforce. In rural areas, the gender gap in time use is even more pronounced. This imbalance in domestic labor prevents rural women from accessing economic opportunities, including agricultural training, small business ventures, or paid employment.
Ethiopia suggests the establishment of affordable and accessible childcare services, particularly in rural areas. According to UN Women, only 5% of women in Ethiopia have access to formal childcare. Additionally, supporting community-based childcare initiatives can help reduce the burden of caregiving for rural women. Ethiopia advocates for policies that encourage the redistribution of unpaid care work within households. Expanding access to social safety nets, such as cash transfers and pensions, will help reduce women’s economic dependence on men and enable them to better manage their caregiving responsibilities. Ethiopia also supports the establishment of community-based care systems to provide support for elderly and disabled family members, reducing the caregiving burden on women.
Unpaid care and domestic work remain significant barriers to achieving gender equality in Ethiopia, particularly for women in rural areas. While Ethiopia has made strides in recognizing the importance of women’s economic empowerment, the burden of unpaid care work continues to limit women’s opportunities for social and economic advancement. Ethiopia calls for greater recognition of unpaid care work, increased access to childcare services, the redistribution of caregiving responsibilities, and enhanced social protection systems to enable women to fully participate in the economy and society.
Sources
https://www.ilo.org/publications/gendered-employment-analysis-and-policy-recommendations-ethiopia
https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/landscape_of_care_-_ethiopia.pdf
https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/A-toolkit-on-paid-and-unpaid-care-work-en.pdf
