The Care Economy in Rural Context: A Gendered Perspective

Abstract

Domestic care work has historically been ignored and not calculated in national or international statistics. The study intended to investigate the time spent by both men and women on domestic care activities and calculate the economic value of these activities. The sample size included 495 participants (248 females and 247 males) from rural Chakwal using a purposive sampling technique. The results revealed significant gender differences in the time spent on domestic care activities, with females spending 87,060 hours on all domestic care activities, such as children, elderly, domestic care, and people with special needs. Meanwhile, males spend only 25,795 hours on domestic care activities monthly. The economic value calculated for care activities for females is 13.4 million rupees, and for men is 4 million rupees in a month. The study emphasizes promoting shared family domestic care responsibilities and increasing societal recognition of the importance of caregiving activities.