Gender and the Bifurcation of Paid and Unpaid Care Work

The 29th of October marks the International Day of Care and Support, and this year's theme focuses on transforming care systems to achieve Beijing +30. This occasion prompts us to critically examine the dynamics of gendered labour and the ongoing disparity between paid and unpaid care work in Southern Africa.

According to the United Nations, unpaid care work encompasses all unpaid services provided by individuals within a household or community to benefit its members. This includes activities like cooking, cleaning, collecting water and fuel, and caring for children, older persons, and individuals living with illnesses or disabilities. Voluntary community work, such as operating community kitchens or childcare services, also qualifies as unpaid care work.

Women and girls disproportionately shoulder the burden of unpaid care and domestic work, spending three times as much time on these responsibilities as men and boys. This imbalance is a significant barrier preventing women from entering paid employment and pursuing formal employment.

Critical scholarship on the dynamics of gendered labour in African contexts offers valuable insights into the relationship between capitalism and the division of work. While theorists like Nancy Fraser highlight how modern capitalism has delineated reproductive activities—such as cooking, child-rearing, and elder care—outside the realm of "productive" work, it is essential to ground this discussion in African scholarship that reflects local realities.

In many African societies, social reproduction and productive labour are deeply intertwined, with household and family labour forming the bedrock of both economic and social structures. As noted by Ossome (2021), this interdependence challenges the notion that these spheres are entirely separate. Feminist scholars in Africa have emphasised that the division of labour is not merely a consequence of capitalist development but is also shaped by historical, cultural, and socio-economic factors unique to the continent. The entanglement of social reproduction and economic activity is evident in the informal economy. Yet, the statistical invisibility of women's labour in informal settings perpetuates systemic inequalities and limits policy responses. Moreover, there is a need to situate care work within the economic discourse to illustrate how foundational it is to both family and national economies.

This separation has contributed to the enduring categorisation of "productive" waged labour versus "reproductive" unwaged labour, which underpins women's subordination within modern capitalism. In the African context, this dynamic is embedded in legacies of colonial violence and governance, which continues to fundamentally inform social and gender relations.

The Bifurcation

Historically, Western colonialism pushed women out of public arenas they once occupied in pre-colonial societies, confining them primarily to the private sphere (Oyewumi 1997, 124). During colonialism and apartheid, the entrenchment of public and private spheres restricted women's participation in the public domain, linking them with social reproduction and homemaking.

Focusing on KwaZulu-Natal, a former British colony, Mamdani (1996) introduces the concept of the bifurcated state, which captured the developments in KwaZulu during this period. This system legally and socially solidified the divide between those deemed 'civilised' and 'uncivilised.' Locals were labelled as 'uncivilised,' while white settlers were characterised as 'civilised.' This division entrenched inequalities between different groups, which ultimately invited the divisions between men and women when it came to denotations of gender. This inculcation of ideas and implementation of boundaries would further impact women, limiting their political rights and participation.

Amadiume (1987), writing from the Nnobi experience in Nigeria, supports the notion that colonialism altered pre-colonial gender dynamics. Colonialism imposed fixed gender roles, structuring society around a binary system of male and female, with clearly defined roles for each gender. As a result, gender became an inflexible identity in society, stripped of the social and cultural materiality that had previously shaped it. This division is evident in the rigid gender binary established in KwaZulu.

While this inflexibility did not immediately transform life in KwaZulu society, systems like the Hut Tax gradually eroded traditional roles. McClendon (2010) notes that women's work was vital for household success, as they performed most agricultural and reproductive labour. This made their contributions valuable within the taxation system. However, the colonial administration eventually required households to pay taxes only in cash. This shift drove men into the waged labour market outside their homes and altered gender configurations significantly. Consequently, the work traditionally performed by women – once seen as essential – became confined to the domestic sphere and devalued as unproductive. In contrast, the labour carried out by men outside the home was structured and recognised as productive.

Demonstrating the reshaping of modes of what is deemed productive and unproductive and how capitalism consolidated and transformed gender dynamics within African society.

Contemporary society

 The implications today speak to the notion of racialised and feminised poverty. Within contemporary society, which is still ordered by capitalism, women continue to bear the brunt of unemployment and the inability to access the working pool due to the burdens of unpaid care work. This means that women continue to experience a higher incidence of poverty than men, with deepening and severe experiences of poverty, and this is only set to increase if factors such as unpaid care work are not addressed.

The study Lived Realities: Empowerment Gaps and Opportunities for Women Living in Rural Communities in South Africa (2023), conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), found that rural women and girls spend most of their time doing unpaid care work, which significantly impacts their ability to engage within the civic dimensions of their respective communities. This continues to be the case with KwaZulu Natal, one of the areas where this study was conducted.  This reality continues to exacerbate the patriarchal hold that men have within the public sphere of the community. Additionally, the Lusikisiki 2023 CSVR report also notes the specific vulnerability of elderly women who are survivors of sexual violence, which undercuts the notion of ageing with dignity and further necessitates the strengthening of care and support for older persons. The care economy is growing as the demand for childcare and care for the elderly is increasing across the world, and this is happening while care work across the world remains characterised by a void of benefits and protections, low wages or non-compensation, and exposure to physical, mental and, in some cases, sexual harm.

These realities continue to demonstrate that there is a growing consensus for the development of stringent care policies and much-needed revision of terms and conditions of care work. This ultimately calls for dismantling systems that continue to perpetuate work conducted in the private sphere as unproductive labour.

This requires implementing recommendations that focus on reducing the disproportionate poverty experienced by women, which is often reinforced by the burden of unpaid care work. It also calls for state responses that recognise care as a fundamental right and acknowledge the care economy as an essential part of the broader collaborative ecosystem, even within traditional capitalist economies.

This article was originally published on AfricLaw