Indian Women Spend 5 Hours a Day on Domestic Work, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Women in India spend about five hours a day on unpaid domestic work, or thrice as much time as men, according to a new survey by the government.

Only about 18% of women participated in employment and related activities in a day, against 57% of men, according to the findings of the first Time-Use survey by the Ministry of Statistics.

Mapping Unpaid Women’s Work Is India’s Answer to Jobs Puzzle

The participation of Indian women in the labor force is among the least in the world and they earn 35% less on average than men. Women represent 49% of the nation’s population yet contribute only 18% to its economic output, about half the global average.

The survey, conducted last year and covered people of both sexes, will help better target welfare programs in the economy, where employment conditions have worsened because of the pandemic. It showed Indians spend half of their time in self-care and maintenance, and devote only 11.4% to employment and related activities.

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