Page 251 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 2

CPS1849 Shaymaa Wael A.R.

The monetary value of unpaid family work in
Egypt by regions
Shaymaa Wael Abdelhakim Rabie
Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Cairo, Egypt

Abstract
One of the significant structural barriers to women’s economic empowerment
is women’s disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic work that restricts
women from taking up paid jobs, undertaking advanced education and skills
training, and participation in public life. The household chores have economic
value but are not counted in traditional measures of the Growth Domestic
Products (GDP). Although unpaid care is a global issue, it has the most impact
on those living in poverty as Women’s unpaid work subsidizes the cost of care
that sustains families and often fills in the roll of social services. This paper tries
to estimate the unpaid family work regionally in Egypt according to Egypt
Time Use Survey (ETUS 2015) and bring visibility to the contribution of
women’s unpaid work in the household and community. The study will
promote analytical research aiming at reducing gender inequalities and
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keywords
Time Use; domestic work; economic value; inequality; SDGs

1. Introduction
Unpaid care work can include domestic activities such as cooking,
housework and collecting fuel; direct care of people such as children or older
people; and other work inside the household or the wider the community. It is
often unrecognized and undervalued in policy and legislation. Women who
are less likely to have access to public services and afford private services or
technology to make their lives easier. As a result, they have less time to engage
in paid labour, work longer hours, or combining paid and unpaid labour. These
activities contribute to human welfare in several ways and are essential for
human survival as the basic physiological and psychological needs of human
beings are met with through his domestic unpaid work. Secondly, these
activities contribute to the production of human capital by improving health,
nutrition and education of family members. Thirdly, these activities contribute
to human development by improving human capabilities in other areas like
physiological and psychological care and good nurturing. Fourthly, some of
these activities provide social security to the old, sick and disabled persons.

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