Unpaid Care Work Time and Women's Employment Status: Evidence from India

Using the first Indian 2019 Time Use Survey, we investigate the association between women's time spent on unpaid care work (UCW) and their employment status and whether this association differs by socio-demographic characteristics such as age, marital status, education level and household size, controlling for religion, social group status, household monthly expenditure and geographical location (e.g. rural versus urban settings). Using multinomial logistic regression, an inverse association was found between women's UCW and their employment status. An hour increase in women's time spent on UCW decreased their odds of employment, self-employment or pursuing higher education by 38 per cent, 27 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively. According to a decomposition analysis, almost 80 per cent of the odds ratios for employment status were due to increased time spent on UCW rather than the influence of socio-demographic characteristics. Findings underscore the need for integrating care provisions into the broader social and economic agenda for the country. The focus of this article is the hidden impact of unpaid care work (UCW) on women's careers in India. Prioritising UCW could hold women back from employment, entrepreneurship and higher education. In this article, we explore domestic and caregiving services, where time management is the key to unlocking employment opportunities. Time spent on UCW played a major role as it accounted for 80 per cent of the influence on employment outcomes, far outweighing the influence of socio-demographic factors.