A STUDY of state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) called for policies and programs that give value to “unpaid work”. Unpaid work may refer to housework, home production, nonmarket work, or those pertaining to reproductive roles.
A large percentage of primed-aged (25-59 years old) men and women are not looking for market jobs because they are tied up with housework, which may include taking care of young and old people and doing chores like preparing or cooking food, washing clothes, and house cleaning.
Compared to single women, the prevalence of nonmarket work, particularly housework, is higher among married women at around 99 percent based on 2006-2015 data. Meanwhile, the percentage of single men engaged in housework was lower than that of married men (27-38% vs 34-41%) in 2006-2014. In 2015, the number of married men engaged in housework rose to 95 percent and 67 percent for single men. The 2012 International Social Survey Programme also showed that women and men spend 30 and 18 hours on care work, respectively. It also reported that women devote 25 hours in housework while men spend only 16 hours.
Housework has important implications on human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes. Nonmarket labor, especially care work, may give rise to interruptions in market participation, with women particularly affected given their child-bearing and child-nurturing roles. Consequently, the market work interruption of women can adversely affect their positions in the formal labor market.
Unpaid work, however, also has positive consequences. The home is considered a vital partner of education institutions and mothers are crucial in realizing and reinforcing learning outcomes. Basically, the unpaid work of mothers contributes to nurturing the next generation of healthy citizens and potential leaders.
Given its direct and indirect socioeconomic impacts to society, the study laid down a set of recommendations to encourage government to prioritize and value the unpaid work. Among these is to broaden job opportunities through telecommuting. Concerned government agencies like the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Trade and Industry should utilize digital platforms to increase online jobs such as study tutorials and editorial services, and to assist micro and small enterprises to be more visible in local markets, respectively.
Another proposal is to grant incentives to working couples who belong to a specific income bracket and have preschool children. This can be done by deducting child-care expenses (e.g., day-care services, nanny’s wage) from the income of couples in the lowest taxable income bracket or by providing subsidies to tax-exempt workers.
The study also recommended improving the quality of child-care services to encourage mothers to return to the labor market. Moreover, it noted that a “fast and reliable mass transportation is also a key to reducing the burden of unpaid work” and a “fast, cheap, and reliable internet can help men and women pursue work from home.”
