Women's Economic Empowerment Policy and Programming

Creating and sharing new knowledge on the balance between paid work and unpaid care

Infographic

When my wife is absent, I do the cooking and take care of my children. I cannot wait until she comes back. I do the same when she is doing paid work or when children are at school. I take care of...
Mukagasana Marie
There is nothing to do because we want the best for our families. So we have to sacrifice.
Mama Harriet
Mama Francin
It [home-based work] is good as it serves both the purpose, she can stay at home she can do the household chores and even earn. My mind also would be at peace.
Shashikala Sailesh
Sometimes my husband finds [it] a challenge because you might leave home without cooking, which forces him to cook for the children… that’s not his job, but he is supposed to do it since the...
Mama Erica
The effects of care burdens on my paid work are that for example my child is sick I cannot go to my paid work because I have to take care of my child so my income decreases.
Mama Judith
Roshni takes along either one of her sons to watch over her youngest daughter while she does her construction work. The older child does not attend school when this happens.
Roshni Mimroth
'I put them [the children] in my lap and study’, and even though it is difficult, ‘it is my responsibility and I have to do it’.
Malati Kathodi
Other women think [I] am doing risky business when I go sell my things at the school.
Mama Juliet
The house cannot run without her… [if she were away], everything would be disturbed, who would cook food, look after the animals or cut grass?... in her absence it is really difficult to manage...
Gauri Mina
Getting water and firewood has to be done by the womenfolk… If you are a woman, you have to do all this work.
Indumati Khair
We tie the little girl’s leg to something so that she doesn’t move around and make the boy who is elder to her sit and play with her.
Parvati Sharma
‘We are fed up with running around for water.’ , ‘There can be only one thing, either I go to my work or they go to school.’
Swati Balai
My paid work helps me in my unpaid work as when I have money I can pay someone to help me fetch water.
Mama Miriam
Unpaid work takes most of my time since I have to do all work at home and still take care of my children even their father which is hard for me. It’s really tiresome since most of the work is done...
Ineza Alice
Getting food essentials from the government fair price shop can also take up to four hours, which includes walking to and fro and waiting at the shop, there are times when they have to return empty...
Teesta Daabi
One has to lift [water] and get it. It is very far, you take it on your head and bring it, one’s head too hurts. Once you are back with water, one does all the work like cleaning and cooking, all...
Manjari Rajkumar
In fact, I am always busy with lots of care work at home and other duties since I am the president of the self-help group.
Munyana Liliose
It is so tiresome; I am not able to do all the care work at home on time.
Nishimwe Denise
What work will he do? He comes at twelve in the night… so what work will he do?’
Sumita Sharma
I sell vegetables and fruits in order to earn income. I sell them to village traders and local market and get time to do farming and do care work at home.
Mwiza Aisha
I don’t feel happy when she [mother] goes out [for paid work]... If mother is at home, we can take the goat for grazing or can go to the jungle to collect firewood. When she is not at home then I...
Devibai Daabi
I have got children to feed, who would feed them if I will go out to [Gujarat] to work?
Durga Naikda
Care affects me since it’s the work that takes me a lot of time and I even fail to get time to rest. I get [rest] time when my children are around.
Byukusenge Jennine
When we were carrying sand to build [a] water supply system, I learnt how I can get water easily and the water is clean.
Mama Noerina
She contributes a big amount to the family, because her business helps to buy building materials for the house we are building, and she buys clothes for the children.
Mama Alexandria
Women in our culture are the ones who are responsible for doing all housework.
Kamikazi Rose
We are in a state of fear for the child. We are scared that our child may walk out or if something happens... they do not take good care.
Shaila Pathan
I have to do household work, then work as a labourer, do the agricultural work. There is no one to help me out. There was no rest at all. Just keep doing whatever work there is to do.
Hema Bai
If her contribution was useless, we would not have managed.
Mama Robina
I cannot afford everything but I try for them not to lack the basics like food, scholastic materials – for the eight year old – and clothing.
Mama Carol
The [men] do as much as they can and then they go away. The entire day, I am saying, there is no time during the day. There is some time in the morning if you sleep and wake up a little late, but...
Pratibha Garudi

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Lived experiences of women

Our project has generated a large dataset of case studies, that detail the contours and consequences of women striving to balance their paid work and unpaid care work. These anonymised summaries illustrate the extreme drudgery and physical and emotional depletion faced by women in low income households.

A rigorous and innovative mixed-methods approach combining participatory tools with quantitative surveys and qualitative data collection to provide a holistic picture of women, their families and communities.

24-hour time use recording

10 participatory tools including body mapping in 16 sites

Rich and through data analysis of 126 families

800 household surveys

Knowledge and evidence

Get the knowledge on how to generate a ‘double boon’ through provision of decent work that is empowering for women; and redistribution of unpaid care work such that women undertake no more than their fair share of care.

Global synthesis report

Academic insights and practical recommendations published in
4 working papers, 4 country reports, 8 programmatic guidance notes, 2 policy briefs and 126 case studies

Download the publications

Making an impact

Promoting evidence-based learning through generation of debate at local, national, regional and international levels; and dissemination of policy-oriented outputs that highlight how women’s economic empowerment can be optimised, shared across families and sustained across generations.