By – Aahna Vashistha

Introduction

The International Labor Organization, a global advocate for gender equality, social justice, and decent work for all, has always underscored the critical role of women’s labor force participation in driving social equity and economic growth. But such efforts are significantly hampered by a major and often overlooked obstacle: unpaid caregiving duties. Providing care for children, the elderly, and the household is one of the very important domestic chores that supports families and society. This work falls primarily on women, normalized and undervalued within a societal framework known as “Saming.” “Saming” refers to the way society views unpaid caregiving as a woman’s inherent duty, thus making it invisible and undervalued. This not only prevents women from fully participating in the workforce but also hinders economic growth, perpetuates gender inequality, and further exacerbates social disparities. This article analyses the significant relationship between women’s labor force participation and their caregiving responsibilities. With ILO research and advocacy initiatives, it will explore how women’s unpaid care responsibilities impact their ability to engage in paid work, perpetuating existing inequalities. Data is incorporated, accompanied by field examples and concrete recommendations, to provide a paper in which spaces could be opened to gradually lessen unequal burdens of care. This shall ultimately contribute to fair and inclusive labor markets where the value and societal role of care are widely acknowledged, but not gender-specific.

Socioeconomic Factors Amplifying Women’s Caregiving Responsibilities

Women’s caring duties are intricately linked to cultural norms, economic realities, and institutional structures, which significantly hinder their ability to participate in the labor market. Women are disproportionately affected by these caregiving responsibilities, which include managing the home, providing childcare, and providing elder care. This limits their ability to advance both personally and professionally. The complexity of this problem is shown by a closer look at the socioeconomic aspects.

• Social Expectations and Cultural Conventions

In many countries, women are typically designated as the primary caregivers in families due to conventional gender roles. These social norms support the idea that women should provide care regardless of their professional responsibilities. These conventions foster an atmosphere in which women are expected to put unpaid caregiving ahead of paid labor, resulting in what is commonly known as the “double burden” of work. This dilemma is made worse in conservative nations by shame, as women who pursue careers are frequently accused of ignoring theirhome obligations. This weakens their ability to seek financial independence and perpetuates gender stereotypes.

 Example- For instance, because of long-standing cultural norms, women are still frequently expected to prioritize caregiving responsibilities in nations like Japan. Despite many women’s high levels of education, a case study by the World Economic Forum (2018) showed how women in Japan face tremendous pressure to conform to these standards, which severely restricts their ability to grow in their careers.

• Inadequate state Assistance and Facilities

Women are forced to bear the sole burden of caregiving due to a lack of accessible and reasonably priced resources, such as childcare and eldercare facilities. Families, particularly women, have few options because public investment in these services is still insufficient in many nations. The problem is made worse by insufficient labor rules and regulations, such as those that forbid paid parental leave, flexible work schedules, and full healthcare.

In the absence of structural assistance, caregiving obligations turn into a recurring barrier to continued and active engagement in the workforce by women. For example, research indicates that women are much more likely to be employed in nations with adequately financed childcare services.

Example- Access to affordable and reasonably priced childcare is a major problem in India. 2020 research by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) found that about 30% of working women quit or cut back on their hours because of a shortage of childcare options, and over 75% of urban families in India depend on unpaid caretakers. In contrast, nations like Finland that provide state-funded childcare have seen increases in the number of women entering the labor force and advancing in their careers.

• Economic Necessities and Poverty

It is significantly more difficult for women in low-income homes to juggle paid work and caregiving. These women are forced to look for employment due to financial necessity, yet many are forced to choose low-paying, informal, or part-time positions because they lack access to resources like daycare.

By keeping women in jobs with fewer prospects for promotion, this vicious cycle prolongs poverty and increases the gap between men’s and women’s incomes. Additionally, these households are more vulnerable due to inadequate social safety nets, which increases their need for unpaid caregiving.

Example-Women in low-income households in South Africa, who frequently juggle caregiving responsibilities with part-time or informal employment, experience financial difficulties, according to a 2021 UN Women case study. The time demands of caring for others have confined these women, who are primarily found in rural and informal communities, to low-paying, precarious professions. Many women are trapped in a cycle of poverty because they lack access to childcare or eldercare services, which limits their ability to advance in their careers.

• Barriers to Education and Skill

Women’s access to better-paying and safer occupations is hampered by educational disparities and restricted access to vocational training. Due to gender biases in educational systems, women are frequently drawn to previously underappreciated and underpaid professions that include providing care, like teaching or nursing. Many women are also unable to move into positions that provide the flexibility required to combine paid work and caregiving due to this lack of skill diversification. These obstacles eventually hurt women’s long-term financial security and employment opportunities.

Example-Gender inequality is perpetuated by educational disparities in rural India, especially when it comes to women’s access to higher education, according to the 2019 NFHS-5 report. Because they have to take care of the home, many young women in rural areas are prevented from attending school or are forced to leave early. As a result, they are less qualified for well-paying occupations since they have less access to skills and vocational training. Economic mobility is further limited by the fact that, according to the NFHS-5, almost 40% of rural women, especially those living in low-income areas, wind up working in low-skilled or caring occupations as a result of their lack of education.

• Availability of Vital Resources

Practical obstacles like poor access to technology and transportation make it difficult for women to find and keep a job. Unreliable public transportation or a lack of safe commute options further marginalize women in emerging economies, especially those who are responsible for providing care.

Furthermore, obtaining healthcare is still a major obstacle. Women’s capacity to maintain a steady professional presence is further diminished by the fact that they frequently need to take time from work to care for ailing children or elderly family members.

Example- According to a 2020 World Bank research, low access to transportation in rural Egypt prevents women who frequently provide care at home from finding full-time jobs. These women are further marginalized by lengthy commutes or hazardous roads, which lowers their rates of workforce participation.

• Discrimination at Work and Gender-Based Violence

Women who are juggling work and childcare responsibilities face additional challenges due to systemic discrimination, which includes unfair compensation, little prospects for career progression, and harassment at work. Professional compromises are frequently unavoidable in settings that do not take into account women’s dual responsibilities.

Women may also be deterred from staying in or re-entering the workforce by the possibility of harassment or violence at work, especially in areas with lax or non-existent gender-based safeguards.

Example- According to a 2019 UN Women case study on Brazil, many women experience gender-based harassment at work, which can result in career delays, job unhappiness, or even forced termination. Women who are in charge of providing care, in particular, frequently face the added difficulty of facing consequences for taking time off to perform caregiving responsibilities, which makes them even more susceptible to discrimination at work.

The cumulative impact of these socioeconomic factors leaves women disproportionately burdened, leading to lower workforce participation, diminished career growth, and reduced lifetime earnings. At a macro level, this disparity also translates into lost economic potential, as countries with lower female workforce participation miss out on significant contributions to GDP and societal progress.

Saming: The Invisibility of Women’s Caregiving Labor

“Caring duties have an enormous impact on women’s employment, and it’s important to recognize the cultural norms—such as saming—that make caregiving work invisible and underappreciated. Saming explains how society normalizes and perceives unpaid caregiving—which is primarily done by women—as invisible labor. Many cultures view caregiving responsibilities, such as raising children or looking after the elderly, as an intrinsic duty of women, which devalues them and keeps these responsibilities from being acknowledged as labor issues.

Women are discouraged from seeking higher-paying positions or simply staying in the workforce as a result of this normalization, which perpetuates gendered expectations. This is especially true in the absence of supportive laws like paid leave or affordable daycare. By limiting professional options and creating a system that severely limits women’s economic agency, these cultural norms frequently make gender inequality worse. Working women are weighed down with extra duties at home, which has a direct effect on their professional paths, as Hochschild (1989) emphasizes in her concept of the “second shift.” In a similar vein, Ferree and Oriard (2010) address how the gendered division of labor solidifies the idea that women should provide care. In the meantime, Folbre (2000) highlights how this work’s lack of exposure undermines women’s financial independence and helps to maintain traditional gender roles.

Ultimately, saming perpetuates gender inequality, making it difficult to implement the necessary changes for equitable opportunities. To address this issue, caregiving needs to be recognized as a shared responsibility, challenging the societal norms that perpetuate its invisibility.

Data & Statistics

Data from the Survey: Women’s Labor Force Participation and Unpaid Care Work

Globally, the weight of unpaid caregiving obligations severely limits women’s ability to participate in the workforce. Numerous regional and worldwide statistics highlight how serious this problem is:

Worldwide Patterns:

• Unpaid caregiving obligations keep 708 million women out of the workforce globally. Compared to 5% of males who cite care as a barrier, this number represents 45% of all women who are not in the labor force. (The Effect of Care Duties on Women’s Involvement in the Workforce, ILO, 2024)
• Caregiving is cited as the primary reason for 379 million women between the ages of 25 and 54 to miss work; this load is higher in rural and less educated areas. (The Effect of Care Duties on Women’s Involvement in the Workforce, ILO, 2024)
• Globally, women devote 3.2 times as many hours to unpaid caregiving as men do, which exacerbates their financial dependence and perpetuates gender inequality. (OECD, 2020; ILO, 2024)

Disparities by Region:

• Regional Differences: The Arab States (59%), Asia-Pacific (52%), and Northern Africa (63%), have the largest percentages of women who are not working because they are caring for others. European exclusions connected to caring, on the other hand, are far lower, with Eastern Europe accounting for only 11%. (ILO, 2024; The Effect of Care Responsibilities on Women’s Labor Force Participation)
• In the Americas, the disparity is striking: only 19% of women in Northern America see caring as their biggest obstacle, compared to 47% of women in Latin America and the Caribbean. ILO, 2024

Particular Barriers:

• Social norms exacerbate the gendered disparity in caregiving duties; only 20% of countries worldwide provide paid paternity leave, and only 25% of countries have subsidized daycare systems. In 2024 and 2023, the ILO
• Global efforts have raised funding for early childhood education and care since 2018, but changes in the population and climate are expected to increase the demand for unpaid caregiving even more, which will have an impact on workforce participation. (The Effect of Care Duties on Women’s Involvement in the Workforce, ILO, 2024)

Together, these figures demonstrate the societal and systemic obstacles that women encounter as a result of the disproportionate distribution of caregiving duties.

(Sources: ILO, UNICEF, OECD, ILOSTAT, World Bank)

Impact on Labour Force Participation

1. Decreased Workforce Participation: Women who are responsible for caring for others are frequently forced to accept part-time or informal jobs or leave the workforce permanently, which limits their ability to advance in their careers and increase their income. This problem is made worse by the dearth of reasonably priced daycare and eldercare options, which makes it challenging to balance work and caregiving.
2. The “Motherhood Penalty” and Job Interruptions: Women frequently face job disruptions as a result of caregiving obligations, such as maternity leave or taking time off to look after elderly family members or children. Women may lose out on training, promotions, and important job experience as a result of these disruptions, which can also impede career advancement. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the “motherhood penalty,” emphasizes how motherhood negatively affects earnings and employment opportunities. Further sustaining gender-based employment disparities, research shows that moms are routinely subjected to discrimination in recruiting and promotion decisions and are frequently paid less than their childless colleagues.
3. The Caregiving Burden and Wage Gaps: Women are generally paid less for equivalent labor than men, a persistent problem known as the gender pay gap. Additionally, women may be more inclined to take career breaks, work part-time, or choose lower-paying jobs to suit their caring responsibilities, which can add to this disparity. And over time, this can result in a cumulative disadvantage since women may lag behind men in terms of income and professional growth.
4. Limited Possibilities for Professional Development: Women’s chances for career growth and promotion may be restricted by caregiving duties. They might not have as much time or energy to devote to networking, training, and other career-advancing activities. And might also have trouble juggling work and family obligations, which can cause stress and burnout and impede their ability to advance professionally as a result of this.

 Policy Recommendations & Way Ahead

The International Labour Organization (ILO) supports several policy initiatives that can offer workable solutions to bridge the gender gap brought on by caring responsibilities:

1. Shared Caregiving Responsibilities:  Promote fair caregiving responsibilities by enacting laws such as paid paternity leave, which the ILO has recommended. This redefines caregiving as a shared responsibility and encourages more men to participate in it.

2. Universal Access to Reasonably Priced Childcare: The ILO promotes reasonably priced, high-quality childcare services as a vital component in facilitating women’s involvement in the workforce. Governments ought to fund community-based childcare systems and subsidized childcare centres.

3. Comprehensive Family Leave Policies: Implementing paid parental, maternity, and paternity leave, as advised by the ILO, guarantees that caregiving obligations can be handled without compromising financial or professional prospects. Policies pertaining to paid leave must be created with equal support for men and women.

4. Flexibility in the workplace and social protection: The ILO suggests that flexible work arrangements, like remote work and customizable hours, can assist employees in juggling their professional responsibilities and caring. It is also crucial to strengthen social protection programs, such as caring allowances and pension rights for unpaid caregivers.

5. Encouraging Gender Equality in Work Policies: The ILO highlights the significance of anti-discrimination measures in the workplace to lessen the obstacles that caregiving women encounter in obtaining employment and advancing in their careers. Clear guidelines and monitoring can ensure fair hiring, promotion, and compensation practices.

Future Direction

Gender balance in the workplace can be attained by putting ILO-recommended solutions into practice. Strong family policies, guaranteeing the availability and affordability of childcare services, and encouraging fair parental leave must be top priorities for governments. In order to support caregivers, employers should actively incorporate ILO principles by providing workplace flexibility and anti-discrimination policies. National programs aimed at changing cultural norms can dispel gender stereotypes and legitimize shared caring responsibilities. Through a comprehensive strategy that integrates workplace changes, policy innovation, and societal transformation, these actions can break down structural obstacles and promote equitable economic growth, innovation, workplace reforms, and societal transformation, these measures can dismantle systemic barriers and foster inclusive economic development.

Conclusion

One major obstacle to gender equality in the workplace is the disproportionate amount of caregiving duties placed on women. This study illustrates how deeply rooted societal norms, insufficient state support, and structural discrimination restrict women’s economic engagement and sustain gender inequality. It is based on ILO research and is bolstered by compelling case studies from various nations around.
To tackle this intricate problem, a multifaceted strategy is needed. Policies that encourage shared caregiving obligations, such extensive paid maternity leave for both parents and universal access to reasonably priced, high-quality daycare, must be given top priority by governments. Additionally, strong anti-discrimination regulations in the workplace, flexible work schedules, and strong social safety nets are essential for empowering women to manage their caregiving responsibilities and career goals.

However, achieving this goal calls for a larger cultural transformation in how we view unpaid labour and deal with gendered expectations, not just a change in policy. Moving forward, we must concentrate on removing the systemic barriers that sustain gender inequality to establish a labour market where women are fully integrated as equal contributors to social and economic advancement. In addition to being morally right, achieving real gender equality at work and home is also economically necessary since maximizing women’s potential would spur innovation, sustainability, and societal advancement. The road ahead requires unified, focused effort, and the moment to act is now.

References

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• National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) India, 2019. Gender Disparities in Education and Work Participation Among Rural Women. Available at: http://rchiips.org/nfhs
• World Bank, 2020. Rural Transport and Women’s Mobility: The Case of Egypt. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org
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• Hochschild, A. R., 1989. The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. University of California Press. Available at: https://www.ucpress.edu
•  Ferree, E., & Oriard, M. M., 2010. Gender and the Politics of Work-Family Balance. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://global.oup.com
• Folbre, N., 2000. The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values. New Press. Available at: https://www.newpress.com