Unpaid Care and Domestic Work

ECOSOC: UN Women

Topic: Unpaid Care and Domestic Work

According to the International Labor Organization in 2018, women performed 76.2% of unpaid labor hours internationally. Analysis by Oxfam estimates that if paid national minimum wage in each nation for hours worked, the sum would add up to $10.8 trillion per year internationally. These unpaid roles involve domestic work, including cooking, cleaning, fetching water and firewood, and looking after children or family members with disabilities and elderly family members. It is essential labor for households to function, however, through circumstance and tradition, this work largely falls to female members of a family and can impact women of any age, elderly grandmothers, mothers, and daughters.

These expectations that many young women face, can discourage them from seeking a formal education which can decrease their earning potential later on in life. By tending to the needs of the family, many women are not able to place primary and secondary education as a priority. Education access for young women increases lifetime earnings as well as other benefits. Every additional year of primary school increases a girl’s eventual wages by 10-20%. Women who can find work often have to choose between working enough hours to sustain their family financially or caring for family members. Because care is simply too expensive, this can lead to children being left home alone too young or elder family members tasked to take care of children, clean, and cook, leading to potential injury.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women should take into consideration when undertaking the issue of Unpaid Care and Domestic Work the various conditions in which they occur and why. The committee may want to consider how to increase awareness of unpaid labor and address family care concerns. As well as, how to encourage access to education for women who are responsible for the needs of their family.

Research Links:
ILO Report on Unpaid Care Work and the Labour Market:
https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@gender/documents/publication/wcms_732791.pdf

Toolkit on Paid and Unpaid Care Work:
https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/A-toolkit-on-paid-and-unpaid-care-work-en.pdf

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