Balancing the scales of unpaid care work: Men lead in pet care and home repairs, survey shows
A man takes care of his dog.
What you need to know:
- A new report by the KNBS and the Gender department reveals that while women still carry 84 per cent of unpaid domestic and care work, men’s participation is growing, particularly in home maintenance, pet care, and plant upkeep.
- In 2021 alone, unpaid domestic and care work was valued at Sh2.24 trillion, with women contributing Sh1.89 trillion; the data underscores how invisible labour underpins Kenya’s economy and highlights the urgent need to recognise and redistribute care responsibilities.
A survey released last week by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and State Department of Gender shows some unpaid care domestic work is popular with men.
The Economic Value of Unpaid Domestic and Care Work in Kenya indicates that men’s involvement was relatively higher in household maintenance and repair at 158.2 million hours. Men spent more time than women in all activities under the unpaid pet-care service category.
Specifically, out of the total time dedicated to daily pet care activity, men accounted for 61.1 per cent of the total time compared to 38.9 per cent of the total hours spent by women. In other activities related to pet care, men accounted for 58.3 per cent of the total time spent, while women contributed to 41.7 per cent of the time.
Men also lead in upkeep of indoor/outdoor plants, contributing 85.2 per cent of the total time, and recycling and waste disposal at 73.2 per cent. Women, however, dominated in the routine indoor cleaning activities accounting for 88.6 percent of the total time spent.
Further, men accounted for 61 per cent of the total time dedicated to do-it-yourself home improvements and 98.9 per cent of the total time dedicated to vehicle maintenance, compared to 39 per cent and 1.1 per cent by women respectively.
Men spent more time than women on paying household bills and on other household management activities. They nearly match women in recreational activities like playing or sports with children, spending 47.2 per cent of the total time, compared to 52.8 per cent by women.
Men’s involvement was notably higher in certain activities, such as meetings and arrangements with adult care service providers, accounting for 52.9 per cent of the total time spent in this activity, compared to 47.1 per cent by women.
The largest amount of time spent on unpaid domestic care work by both sexes was on food and meal preparation, with women spending 14.7 billion hours and men 2.2 billion hours. Care and maintenance of textiles and footwear was the second prevalent activity in the household, with women using four billion hours and men 756.7 million hours.
Additionally, women accounted for a larger share of childcare and instruction at three billion hours compared to men, who spent 310 million hours. Nutrition services, which primarily include meal preparation and food management, accounted for the largest share of unpaid labour at 54.7 per cent, with 16.8 billion hours.
Women contributed 14.6 billion hours, accounting for more than half of all unpaid work. On the other hand, men contributed more hours at 5.5 million to pet care than women at 3.6 million.
There were significant gender disparities in annual unpaid domestic and care work hours, with women contributing 25.8 billion hours compared to 4.8 billion hours by men. Unpaid domestic work accounted for the largest share at 88 per cent, with women spending 22.6 billion hours compared to 4.4 billion hours spent by men.
The unpaid domestic work includes essential daily activities such as meal preparation, cleaning, laundry, and household management. It involves childcare, care of the elderly, and caregiving for nondependent adults, amounting to 3.2 billion hours for women and 434.2 million hours for men.
Disparities
Ann Wang’ombe, the Gender and Affirmative Action Principal Secretary, says the findings highlight gender disparities in time use and labour burdens and reinforce the urgent need to recognise, reduce, and redistribute unpaid domestic and care work as part of broader efforts towards gender equality and sustainable development.
“It is our hope that this household satellite account will spark meaningful actions towards recognition of the value of unpaid domestic and care work in our economy and society. We commit to collaborating with all stakeholders in the implementation of the recommendations advanced in this report,” Ann says.
Antonia N'Gabala Sodonon, the UN Women Representative in Kenya, says paid and underpaid care work are not social side issues but economic drivers whose recognition determines how fast and how fairly our country grows. “Unlocking productivity: every hour women spend in unpaid care is an hour not spent in income generation or education. Reducing and redistributing unpaid care frees their time for entrepreneurship and employment,” she says.
She notes inclusion drives growth; when women participate fully, productivity and innovation rise across the economy. “Care is a source of job creation. Childcare, eldercare, disability care and domestic services can become growth sectors, especially for women and youth.”
Macdonald Obudho, the Director General of KNBS, hopes that the report will meet the needs of users and stimulate constructive debates addressing unpaid domestic and care work in Kenya.
Globally, women undertake a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic and care work. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), women perform about 76.2 per cent of total unpaid domestic and care work, dedicating an average of four hours and 25 minutes per day, compared to men’s one hour and 23 minutes.
The 2021 Kenya Time Use Survey shows women in Kenya spend an average of 4 hours 30 minutes per day on unpaid care work, compared to 54 minutes by men. This significant imbalance, the gender experts note, underscores the need for policy interventions to address gender disparities in unpaid labour.
Many women rights organisations and gender activists insist that measuring unpaid domestic and care work is crucial in promoting gender equality and empowerment of women and girls through implementation of ILO’s “5R Framework for Decent Care Work”. The five Rs are recognise, reduce, redistribute unpaid domestic and care work, reward and represent paid care work by promoting decent work for care workers and guaranteeing their representation, social dialogue and collective bargain.
The 5R framework provides a foundation on which main policy priority areas on care work are premised, which include care, macroeconomic, labour, social protection, and migration policies.
