Activists are seeking to reduce the burden of unpaid care and domestic work on women by getting more men to take an equal share, especially in rural areas.

The call was made on Wednesday, March 22 during the dissemination of research findings on ‘Unpaid Care Work for Women’ which was carried out in five districts, Rwamagana, Burera, Gicumbi, Musanze, and Nyabihu.

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Unpaid care work includes but is not limited to, caring for children, the elderly and sick people. Because of the gendered nature of domestic and reproductive roles, women and girls are often expected to assume unpaid domestic work and care, however, dismantling gender stereotypes and ideas about traditional gender roles could encourage more men to pick up their fair share of unpaid work at home.

The baseline report shows that the burden of unpaid care work for women was much higher in rural areas than in semi-urban and urban areas. The amount of time men spent on such activities differed little by location.

The research conducted by The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR-Rwanda) in collaboration with Réseau des Femmes Oeuvrant pour le Development Rural, a non-governmental organisation, indicated that the burden lessened due to various reasons.

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Findings state that in 168 hours of a week, men worked a total of 66.4 hours and women a total of 75.6 hours.

Also, men were more likely to be in paid employment than women, 24.4 hours compared to 14.1 hours, while women were more likely to do unpaid care work than men, 35.2 hours compared to 14.3 hours.

Men had more hours for leisure activities than women, 25.1 hours compared to 18.1 hours.

The executive director of IPAR, Eugenia Kayitesi, pointed out that according to the research, there is a need for men’s contribution towards unpaid care work along with changing the mindset on both sides to reduce the burden on one gender.

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Kayitesi also recommended that unpaid care work be valuable, consider its contribution to the country’s development and GDP, and educate girls in line with changing the culture of thinking that the man is the provider.

On her part, the national coordinator of Réseau des Femmes Oeuvrant pour le Development Rural, Xaverine Uwimana, said that men have to understand that it’s their responsibility to contribute to unpaid care work instead of putting the burden on women.

"Men mostly focus on paid work while women do more unpaid care work and unequal distributions between them delay the development in the family,” she said, adding, "Raising children differently based on their gender is also an issue that leads to the uneven distribution of unpaid care work.”

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Director General of Gender Promotion and Women’s Empowerment at the Ministry of Gender and Promotion, Silas Ngayabosha, said that various research shows that unequal contribution to unpaid care work is triggered by how people are raised mostly.

Ngayabosha pointed out that there is a need to educate starting from the grassroots level to eradicate inequality as well as sensitise on the impact of partnering in such work, among other measures.

An activity is considered unpaid work if a third party could be paid to do it. Examples include but are not limited to, routine housework, shopping, and caring for other members of the household such as children and the sick.

Unpaid care work is both an important aspect of economic activity and an indispensable factor contributing to the well-being of individuals, their families and societies, according to a 2014 report by OECD Development Centre. Despite this importance for well-being, unpaid care work is commonly left out of policy agendas due to a common misperception that, unlike standard market work measures, it is too difficult to measure and less relevant for policies. Yet, neglecting unpaid care work leads to incorrect inferences about levels and changes in individuals’ well-being and the value of time, which in turn limits policy effectiveness across a range of socio-economic areas, notably gender inequalities in employment and other empowerment areas

Gender inequality in unpaid care work is the missing link that influences gender gaps in labour outcomes. The gender gap in unpaid care work has significant implications for women’s ability to actively take part in the labour market and the type/quality of employment opportunities available to them, the report states.