DHAKA: The total unpaid domestic work carried out by women in Bangladesh is equivalent to 10.75 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

An independent multidisciplinary think-tank Unnayan Onneshan found that in the nation-wide survey based estimate of women domestic work in Bangladesh.

First of its kind in the country and released in connection with the International Women’s Day, the report reveals that the total unpaid work per year might be equivalent to BDT 1115914.8 million or USD 14.45 billion. The total GDP of the country was BDT 1037990 crore in the FY 2012-13.

The leading research organisation estimates that the total engagement of women domestic work in Bangladesh might have been equivalent to 9.3 million full-employment per year.

The Unnayan Onneshan (UO) conducted the country-wide survey in seven districts of seven administrative divisions and the number of households from each district was selected using Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) method. A total of 520 women, comprising 202 from rural and 318 from urban areas, were chosen randomly and interviewed for the purpose of the pioneering research.

The leading research organisation applied two recognised methods - the opportunity cost and the market replacement cost - to estimate the monetary value of the unpaid household work by women in the country.

The opportunity cost method, which measures the amount what women would earn if they are employed as waged labourers instead of being engaged in unpaid domestic work, esitimates that the total unpaid women work per year is likely to be instead of equivalent to BDT 1,115,914.8 million.

Using another method, the think tank finds out that the total amount of the unpaid work by women in Bangladesh is equivalent to BDT 336,918.58 million or USD 4.36 billion, if the market replacement cost method is employed which is computed based upon what it would have been spent to hire someone to carry out the work.

The Unnayan Onneshan observes that the economic value of unpaid domestic work by women would have been much higher if the wages of women in Bangladesh were not comparatively low and the wage deferential between men and women was not so high. “The percentage of the value of unpaid work in the share of GDP in Bangladesh remains low as compared to other countries due to the lower wage structure in different occupations in Bangladesh,” adds the report.

Pointing out that the measurement of unpaid work of women in terms of monetary value is very complex and might be impossible to generate a precise, accurate value of unpaid work of women, yet the Unnayan Onneshan notes that the main point of this study was not to arrive at the appropriate figure, rather to give a sense of the magnitude of contributions done by women by presenting a reasonable range of estimates.

The survey finds that women who are employed in different types of professional services spend on an average 3.69, 5.2, 4.8, and 4.3 hours per day respectively for household work. “Structural rigidities and traditional patriarchal institutional structure are mostly responsible for the reproduction of the current practices,” adds the organisation.

Referring to the rising share of women in the labour force as ‘feminisation of labour,’ the Unnayan Onneshan reasons that growing need and decline of familial support along with the ever-increasing pressures for sustenance have pushed women to engage in income generating activities.

For addressing the issue of unpaid work in Bangladesh, the Unnayan Onneshan calls for recognition of the embedded institutional rigidities that reproduces the system, formulate comprehensive social policy and institute holistic social security system.

“Unless and until such realities are recognised and responded with appropriate policies, institutional structures and monetary instruments, it will be impossible for achieving real equality in the society,” adds the think-tank.

BDST: 1058 HRS, MAR 07, 2014