Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Social Reproduction and the
Gendered Division of Labour
Women, gender and development approaches have revealed the impor-
tance of analysing women's roles in social reproduction and the gen-
dered division of labour that exists within households. Social
reproductive work refers to activities that are carried out to maintain
and care for families (Momsen, 2004). In most countries, these activi-
ties are performed predominantly by women and girls. Although
notions of 'femininity' vary in different cultures and are historically and
geographically contingent, in many societies, domestic and care work
are often regarded as part of women's and girls' 'natural' roles as nur-
turers and homemakers. Time use surveys from many different coun-
tries have shown that women tend to work more hours than men and,
as their involvement in paid work increases, men often do not increase
their share of the unpaid housework and childcare (Momsen, 2004).
Women living in rural areas in the majority world often have a higher
work burden than those living in urban areas, due to reduced access to
household services such as running water, electricity and gas for cook-
ing. Gender and development proponents have argued that women
undertake triple work roles within the family and community:
165
•
Productive work
- that brings in a cash income, including work in
the formal or informal sector, agricultural labour for cash crops, the
sale of produce or other goods.
•
Reproductive work
- care and maintenance of the household, child-
care, food preparation, care of the sick, health, education and social-
ization of children, subsistence agriculture for food consumption.
•
Community management
- maintaining kinship ties, social net-
works with neighbours, carrying out religious, ceremonial and social
obligations in the community, including participation in develop-
ment initiatives.
Women are often seen as responsible for maintaining good relations
with kin, neighbours and others in the community through their par-
ticipation in social activities, events and development initiatives. The
identification of this role through gender analysis was important in
terms of valuing women's (and men's) time contributions to develop-
ment projects and advocating for payments to compensate participants
