By INNABUYOG
www.nordis.net

We have observed, nay, expect the women to be at home, mother, sisters, or lola, to do the household chores every day. This has been so, for ages, considered the typical and normal perception of how a family should be: the man of the house brings in the money while the woman takes care of the menial domestic tasks.

Have we ever wondered how much these seemingly mundane tasks are actually worth? An exploratory study made by Benguet State University researchers have found that if women were paid for household work, they would earn an additional P500 each day. Yes, when we put a peso value to housework, the actual amount each day would make a big difference in the food and education expenses of the average family.

The same study found that while men spend more time in paid work like farm work, women spend three times more than men in performing unpaid work while also doing paid work. Besides the farm work, women are the ones expected to perform unpaid work like cooking, cleaning, washing and taking care of children’s needs. Thus, when the time spent by women on household chores and farm work are added up, it constitutes more time spent on work than a man’s paid farm work each day.

Moreover, 90% of care work or the effort spent in caring for the physical, emotional and psychological needs of other members of the household like children and elderly is consigned to women. Thus, as the study revealed, women’s efforts to find balance among economic, unpaid work and care work results in losing time for the children. As one respondent has expressed, “even if you divide yourself into three for a day, it would not be enough to finish the work.”

This grim situation is compounded by the inequalities and oppression that women face in society. Ibon Foundation data reports that women working in agriculture earned 12% less than men in 2014. This and other forms of economic exploitation have rendered women vulnerable to different forms of abuse and violence, with reported cases rising consistently on a national scale.

All of these can change, and we have the power to make that change. The exploitation, non-recognition and non-valuation of women are rooted in the feudal-patriarchal attitude that was instilled in colonial times purposively to effectively control and prevent resistance. This mindset subordinated women by removing the value of women’s work and contribution in the maintenance of family and society in general.

Indeed, this condition has gone on far too long, and the present-day daughters of Gabriela continue to rise up and put an end to these inequalities. Hence, this election season, let us all work together to ensure that the Women’s Agenda and the changes we seek for our community are included in the priority platforms of our candidates. Let us be critical in choosing our leaders, and serve as active participants in the governance of our society. Let our votes become our voices for genuine change; let us make sure our voices matter.

At the end of the day, it is not how much a parent has earned for the family or how much time one spent in doing household chores. What matters most is the partnership of the parents in working together for a better world for children, which bonds them as a family. # nordis.net