Unpaid work

Unpaid labor is defined as labor that does not receive any direct remuneration. This is a form of 'non-market work' which can fall into one of two categories: (1) unpaid work that is placed within the production boundary of the System of National Accounts (SNA), such as gross domestic product (GDP), and (2) unpaid work that falls outside of the production boundary (non-SNA work), such as domestic labor that occurs inside households for their consumption. Unpaid labor is visible in many forms and isn't limited to activities within a household. Other types of unpaid labor activities include volunteering as a form of charity work and interning as a form of unpaid employment. Unpaid labor is defined as labor that does not receive any direct remuneration. This is a form of 'non-market work' which can fall into one of two categories: (1) unpaid work that is placed within the production boundary of the System of National Accounts (SNA), such as gross domestic product (GDP), and (2) unpaid work that falls outside of the production boundary (non-SNA work), such as domestic labor that occurs inside households for their consumption. Unpaid labor is visible in many forms and isn't limited to activities within a household. Other types of unpaid labor activities include volunteering as a form of charity work and interning as a form of unpaid employment. According to time-use surveys collected by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), women are the main undertakers of unpaid labor globally. This uneven division of unpaid labor within households has implications for women's involvement in both public and private spheres. One common form of unpaid work is unpaid domestic work. The burden of this type of unpaid work generally falls on the women in a household. Contributing so much time to unpaid domestic work has major effects on women and their participation in the labor market, which consequently affects children, society, and the state. 'Unpaid care work' typically specifically contains everyday activities, such as cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping for own household, as well as care of children, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled. The term 'unpaid care work' is primarily defined as care work for family members, but it is important to note that other types of unpaid SNA work exist that address 'productive activities', which include types of labor such as 'growing food for own consumption, and collecting water and fuel'. While unpaid care work is not completely biological, reproductive labor (partially) is. Debra Satz believes that reproductive labor is 'a special kind of labor that should not be treated according to market norms'; it includes childbearing and raising/taking care of children and other family members. Childbearing is an act that only those who possess female reproductive organs can perform, making it irreversibly a biological-female's job. Married women, single mothers, or other female family members (such as elder siblings, aunts, etc.) are expected to be the primary actors of this unpaid reproductive labor in their personal lives, on top of the economic necessity of entering the productive, paid labor force. Child-rearing falls under both reproductive and care labor, so, after breastfeeding, any member of the household can take on the job. The role of women and men within their households is deeply rooted in gender norms and cultural values that have been reinforced over time by colonization and imperialism. For example, as seen in Patricia Grimshaw's research in Hawaii: New England missionaries assumed the roles of imperialists and colonialists by preaching their Christian values to the native Hawaiian population, who, before the missionary women arrived, practiced polygamy (high class-status allowing) and did not trouble themselves with domestic tasks like ironing. The Christian women, in particular, saw it as their responsibility to teach the native women notions of femininity that consisted of remaining inside the home to care for the family and to remain submissive to their husbands. Historically, a woman's position in the home was seen as a prerequisite to being a 'good' wife and mother. Since the 1960s, however, the spread of globalization has given rise to new opportunities for women to participate in market work that has challenged the assumption their primary adult role as that of caretaker for the family and home. The spread of globalization has created more opportunities for women to enter paid employment, but has not relieved them of their time spent on unpaid labor. While participating in the labor market, women who secure paid employment undertake what is known as the 'double burden' of labor. Finding the optimal balance of balance of paid and unpaid labor, or work life balance, is a constant struggle for women trying to create careers for themselves while raising children or caring for elderly family members. Women have to constantly decide where to allocate time and financial resources, which impacts their ability to develop their own capabilities. In turn, this decision impacts their family's relative standard of living as measured by national income accounting statistics. Because of social norms and expectations, the burden of unpaid work primarily falls on the female member(s) of the household. Even if the male member(s) of the household are available to perform the care labor after they return home from their paid job, it is more often seen that the women are taking on the bulk of the care labor after they return home. The traditional view of a family involves a woman in unpaid domestic labor supporting the household; however, under trends of dual earner couples and a gradually aging population, the commercialization of housework and domestic care has become inevitable. Arguments have been made that the value of unpaid domestic labor must always be considered to prevent the exploitation of unpaid workers, and thus should be seen as legitimate employment. There are also arguments that a 'caregiver allowance' should be provided to unpaid domestic workers to protect the labor value of their work. Regardless of the methodology used, a variety of studies have shown that the division of household labor results in a disproportionate burden falling on the wives in married couples' households. While this is the case, it has also been shown that the disparity between men and women in married households has been shrinking to some degree. For example, during the Great Recession of the 2000s, low income men increased their contributions to their households by completing more hours of unpaid domestic work.