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| Making Women’s Work Count: Recognising the Value Beyond Wages | | | Dr. Vijay Garg
Women contribute to families, communities and economies in countless ways. They work in offices, schools, hospitals, factories, farms and businesses. They also cook meals, raise children, care for elderly family members, manage households and provide emotional support. Yet, a significant part of their contribution remains invisible, unrecognised or undervalued. The challenge is not merely to enable women to work, but to ensure that their work truly counts.
For generations, society has often measured work through salaries, promotions and financial returns. Under this narrow definition, a woman working in an office is considered economically productive, while a woman spending the entire day managing her home may be described as unemployed. This distinction ignores the immense value of unpaid domestic and care work, which sustains families and enables other members of society to participate in paid employment.
The Invisible Economy of Women
Consider a woman who wakes up early, prepares meals, gets children ready for school, cares for elderly parents, completes household chores and then begins her paid job. At the end of the day, she returns to another round of domestic responsibilities. Her working day may extend far beyond the hours recorded by her employer.
Similarly, millions of women in rural areas contribute to agriculture by sowing seeds, transplanting crops, collecting fodder, caring for livestock, storing grain and helping with harvesting. Their labour is essential to agricultural production, but it is not always reflected in land ownership, wages or decision-making authority.
Unpaid work does not mean unimportant work. It provides the foundation upon which families, markets and institutions function. Recognising this contribution is the first step towards building a more equitable society.
From Participation to Recognition
Women’s participation in the workforce is an important measure of progress, but participation alone does not guarantee equality. A woman may be employed and still face unequal wages, limited opportunities for advancement, insecure working conditions or discrimination.
Making women’s work count requires equal pay for work of equal value, fair recruitment practices, safe workplaces and access to leadership positions. Women should be judged by their skills, qualifications, performance and achievements rather than by gender-based assumptions about their abilities or family responsibilities.
Employment opportunities must also extend beyond major cities. Rural women need access to vocational education, digital literacy, credit facilities, markets and entrepreneurship programmes. Training should connect with real economic opportunities so that women can transform their knowledge and skills into sustainable livelihoods.
The Burden of the Second Shift
One of the greatest barriers to women’s professional growth is the unequal distribution of household responsibilities. Even when both partners earn, women frequently continue to carry a disproportionate share of cooking, cleaning, childcare and eldercare.
This double burden limits their time for professional development, rest, social participation and personal ambitions. It may also force talented women to leave their jobs or accept less demanding positions.
The solution cannot be found in asking women to become better at managing endless responsibilities. Families must share domestic work more fairly. Men should participate equally in childcare and household management, while employers should support flexible working arrangements wherever possible.
Affordable childcare, accessible healthcare, paid parental leave and dignified eldercare services can help families balance professional and personal responsibilities. Such measures benefit not only women but also children, men, employers and society as a whole.
Technology: An Opportunity and a Challenge
Digital technology has created new possibilities for women to learn, earn and become entrepreneurs. Online education, digital payments, remote work and e-commerce can help women in smaller towns and villages overcome geographical barriers.
A woman can now acquire new skills, offer professional services, market handmade products or operate a small business from home. However, these opportunities depend on reliable internet access, suitable devices, digital literacy and financial awareness.
Technology can also introduce new challenges. Online harassment, insecure gig work, excessive working hours and the absence of social security may expose women to fresh forms of exploitation. Digital inclusion must therefore be accompanied by safety, training, fair compensation and access to grievance-redressal mechanisms.
Technology should expand women’s choices, not create another platform for undervaluing their labour.
The Value of Unpaid Care Work
An important step towards recognising women’s contribution is to measure unpaid care and domestic work more accurately. Time-use surveys can help governments understand how much time women and men spend on household activities, childcare and caring for dependent family members.
Such measurement does not mean that every act of affection or family responsibility must be converted into money. Rather, it helps policymakers understand the real distribution of labour and design better public services.
When women spend several hours collecting water or fuel because basic facilities are unavailable, their unpaid workload increases. Access to clean water, electricity, public transport, sanitation and community childcare can save time and create opportunities for education, employment and rest.
Recognition must therefore lead to practical changes in the conditions under which women live and work.
Financial Independence and Decision-Making
Earning an income is important, but financial independence involves more than receiving a salary. Women should have control over their earnings, access to bank accounts, opportunities to save and invest, and a meaningful role in decisions concerning family assets and expenditure.
Property and inheritance rights also matter. A woman who contributes to a family business or agricultural enterprise should not automatically be excluded from ownership or financial decisions simply because her contribution is unpaid.
Financial literacy can strengthen women’s confidence in managing money, evaluating risks and planning for the future. Self-help groups, cooperative enterprises and women-led businesses can further expand economic participation, particularly in rural communities.
However, empowerment should not become another expectation that women must succeed entirely through individual effort. Institutions, families and governments also have a responsibility to remove structural barriers.
Changing Attitudes Begins at Home
Social transformation begins with everyday behaviour. Children who see fathers cooking, mothers making financial decisions and both parents sharing responsibilities learn that work and authority are not determined by gender.
Schools can challenge stereotypes by encouraging girls to explore science, mathematics, technology, sports and leadership. They should also teach boys the importance of respect, cooperation and equal responsibility.
Media representations matter as well. Women should be portrayed not only as caregivers but also as scientists, farmers, teachers, entrepreneurs, administrators, artists and innovators. Their achievements deserve recognition without suggesting that professional success diminishes their family commitments.
Most importantly, society must stop treating women’s ambitions as optional while considering men’s careers essential.
A Shared Responsibility for a Fairer Future
Making women’s work count requires action at several levels. Governments must strengthen labour protections, improve public infrastructure and expand access to education, healthcare and childcare. Employers must ensure fair wages, safe workplaces and equal opportunities for advancement. Families must distribute domestic responsibilities more equitably. Communities must challenge discriminatory attitudes and support women’s economic independence.
Progress should be measured not merely by how many women enter employment, but also by the quality of their jobs, their earnings, their safety, their control over resources and their freedom to make choices.
A society that recognises women’s contributions becomes more productive, compassionate and resilient. When women’s labour is undervalued, society overlooks a substantial part of its own strength. When their contributions are recognised and their opportunities expanded, the benefits extend across generations.
Ultimately, making women’s work count is not about offering women special treatment. It is about ensuring fairness, dignity and equal opportunity. Every hour of labour deserves respect, every talent deserves a chance to grow, and every woman deserves the freedom to shape her own future.
A nation progresses not only when women are allowed to work, but when their work is valued, their voices are heard and their achievements receive the recognition they deserve. |
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