Social experiment on care economy
Women work 100 hours per week but still consider unproductive: Magdalene-ILO Care work social experiment
What happens if you are paid to do care work that you usually do at home?
JAKARTA (Joint News Release) -- How much time do women spend doing care work? If evaluated, how much is the value of the care work?
These questions underlie the social experiment carried out by women's media Magdalene, supported by the International Labor Organization (ILO), at the end of 2023. The social experiment was produced into a short documentary film, which was screened on Thursday (18/1) at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Central Jakarta. Not only did they show a 20-minute film, dozens of attendees were also enthusiastic about taking part in a discussion with a similar theme.
The film documents a social experiment carried out by five female participants from diverse backgrounds. During the week, they recorded their care and nurturing work in their household, including taking care of children, elderly parents and other domestic work.
By realizing the economic value of care work, it is important for our society to gradually change the perceptions and mindsets regarding the importance of care work for the well-being of all individuals in the family and work productivity for both male and female workers."
Early D. Nuriana, ILO’s Programme Coordinator for Care Work
“The data collected proves what we already know that unpaid care work is almost always disproportionately charged to women,” Chief Editor of Magdalene Devi Asmarani said. "What's new from this, we can see that if it is valued in rupiah, the value is high, even though care work is never valued as something productive."
Early D. Nuriana, ILO’s Programme Coordinator for Care Work, explained the importance of evaluating care work, especially in terms of hours worked and converting the amount of work to the regular salary received from the job or based on the applicable minimum wage.
"By converting the hours of care work carried out per day, per week to per month in the form of income, it will bring awareness to how much this care work has economic value, which up to now has been considered unproductive work and does not need to be paid," said Early.
She also added that "by realizing the economic value of care work, it is important for our society to gradually change the perceptions and mindsets regarding the importance of care work for the well-being of all individuals in the family and work productivity for both male and female workers."
Early continued that the results of the social experiment further confirmed the findings of the ILO survey on public perceptions of care work. In the 2023 survey, the survey finds that the majority of female respondents (67.3 percent) said they do not feel they have to work longer hours doing care work than men.
The data collected proves what we already know that unpaid care work is almost always disproportionately charged to women. What's new from this, we can see that if it is valued in rupiah, the value is high, even though care work is never valued as something productive"
Devi Asmarani, Chief Editor of Magdalene
"Therefore, looking at the results of the latest survey from the ILO and this social experiment, it is very crucial for us to raise critical awareness in society to reduce the burden of care on women and start increasing the redistribution of work to paid workers or improving government policies in the social security system," said Early.
The screening of this social experimental film was followed by a discussion with relevant resource persons: Eko Novi Ariyanti, Assistant Deputy for Gender Mainstreaming for Social and Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection; Diahhadi Setyonaluri, Researcher from the Institute for Economic and Social Research of the University of Indonesia; and Wita Krisanti, Executive Director of the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE).
Key findings from the social experiment:
Number of Care Work Hours in Excess of Paid Work HoursThe findings from this social experiment are that 4 out of 5 participants do care work above 40 hours per week. In fact, the Job Creation Law Number 11 of 2020 regulates that working hours for workers in Indonesia are a maximum of 7 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
The "Long working hours can increase deaths from heart disease and stroke of the ILO and WHO" report (2021) stated that long working hours of 55 hours a week have triggered 745,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease in 2016. Those who are overworked are also more susceptible to stroke risk 35 percent and heart disease 17 percent, compared to those who work a maximum of 40 hours a week.
The majority of participants already consider care work important, but…
Of the five Magdalene participants, there is an awareness that care work is very important and burdensome for women. However, there is still a gender bias that colors their understanding. For example, the most obvious one is that care work has economic value, however women have better quality of care work than men. Or just children are responsible to do care work for their parents as form of devotion and reciprocation.
Riris, for example, mentioned in an interview with us, "I'm looking for reward and worship, so just Bismillah (taking care of my own father)... I'm really tired. If the body is tired, it's hard to rest mentally. If I'm tired, in the bathroom (I) cry until I'm breathless. I let all the emotion and when I feel relieved, I come back to take care of my father. I have a child. Thus, my devotion to my father, I hope that my child will learn from that and would do the same."
A similar understanding is also expressed by Arni and Natalia. Both recognize that care work is very important, and that women do more of it. However, there is also an assumption that this is a dual role that must be enjoyed as a wife, mother and working woman. The two of them also agree to discuss and share domestic care duties with their husband, however, in the end, women still carried out more of the portion.
Riris, for example, mentioned in an interview with us, "I'm looking for reward and worship, so just Bismillah (taking care of my own father)... I'm really tired. If the body is tired, it's hard to rest mentally. If I'm tired, in the bathroom (I) cry until I'm breathless. I let all the emotion and when I feel relieved, I come back to take care of my father. I have a child. Thus, my devotion to my father, I hope that my child will learn from that and would do the same."
A similar understanding is also expressed by Arni and Natalia. Both recognize that care work is very important, and that women do more of it. However, there is also an assumption that this is a dual role that must be enjoyed as a wife, mother and working woman. The two of them also agree to discuss and share domestic care duties with their husband, however, in the end, women still carried out more of the portion.
The majority do not receive sufficient support
After recording their care work activities for a week, we also interviewed the participants offline. The majority admitted that they did not receive an adequate support system, both physical and mental support.
For this reason, Early from the ILO emphasized the need for various supports from companies and from the social security system. "To recognize that care work is as important and productive as other work, there is an urgent need to recognize unpaid care work through the social security system, such as paid leave to provide family care, so that women can continue to work and earn an income," she said.
This support can increase women's work participation, which currently ranges from 54.42 percent to 70 percent in accordance with the 2045 National Long Term Development Plan target.
About
Magdalene (www.magdalene.co) is an online media that focuses on women with a gender perspective and has a mission to promote equality in society. Follow @magdaleneid on Instagram and X, MagdaleneID on YouTube and MagdaleneIndonesia on Facebook.The ILO is the United Nations agency for the world of work that works with governments, employers and workers to promote a people-based approach to the future of work through job creation, employment rights, social protection and social dialogue.
For further information, please contact:
Gita LinggaSenior Communications Officer
Email: gita@ilo.org