Embedded Files
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior learning:
Section 1.1.1 The economy and you, which explains what an economy is and how it is relevant to students’ lives
Section 1.1.2 The embedded economy, which explains the relationship between the economy and society and Earth’s systems
Section 1.3.6 Households, markets, state and commons, which explains four provisioning institutions in the economy and their interconnection
Section 1.3.7 Care in the economy, which explains the importance of care in the economy, the types of care, and why care is undervalued
Section 2.1.1 The household as a system, which describes households, the basic relationships of household members, and the connection between the household and the rest of the economy.
Section 2.3.1 Intrahousehold bargaining power, which explains the factors that impact the relative power of household members
Section S.1 What are systems?, which explains what a system is, the importance of systems boundaries, the difference between open and closed systems and the importance of systems thinking
Section S.2 Systems thinking patterns, which outlines the core components of systems thinking: distinctions (thing/other), systems (part/whole), relationships (action/reaction), and perspectives (point/view)
Section S.5 Causal loops, feedback and tipping points, which explains the feedback loops that can stabilise or destabilise systems.
Learning objectives:
explain the reinforcing feedback loop between gender inequalities within the household and wider society
discuss the various financial and political consequences of gendered household care roles
At yearly Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), country representatives negotiate promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change.
Figure 1 is the photograph of world leaders from COP 28 in Dubai, UAE in 2023.
What do you notice about the number of women in the photo?
Figure 1. Gender inequality on display at the COP 28 climate negotiations in Dubai
(Credit: UNclimatechange CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Not long after this photo was taken, Azerbaijan, the host of COP29, announced an all-male organising committee. After a backlash, Azerbaijan added 12 women and one more man to the committee. Despite the improvement, women remain underrepresented.
Women must be able to participate equally in policy-making, especially on climate change where they are disproportionately affected by their care roles. For instance, worsening droughts force women and girls to travel farther for water. Other policies, like public transportation planning, must be viewed with a gender lens. UN-Habitat found most cities design transport for simple home-to-work travel, not considering women’s more complex travel needs involving childcare, shopping, and community work (Figure 2). Transport systems often lack suitable seating, stroller space, and lighting, making travel unsafe and difficult for women. This limits their mobility and ability to balance work and caregiving, reinforcing gender inequalities.
Figure 2. Women’s travel patterns tend to be more complex than men’s travel patterns, due to their greater household care work (Credit: various artists, Noun Project)
Globally, women are underrepresented in politics and business, partly because of how household care and domestic work are organised. This section explores the link between household gender inequalities and other financial and political inequalities that affect the wellbeing of everyone in society.
How are the organisation of household care and gender inequalities related?
How are the organisation of household care and gender inequalities related?
The organisation of household care and domestic work is deeply related to other gender inequalities in society in a reinforcing feedback loop (Figure 3). If you have not learned about feedback loops, you do not need to look at Figure 3. But if you have learned about them, these diagrams can help you understand the next text explaining the connection between household care inequalities and wider social inequalities.
As discussed in Section 2.3.1, social norms in kinship households often see men as financial providers and women as managers of household care and domestic work. Research from the International Labour Organization (ILO) finds that women spend 3.2 times more hours on unpaid care work than men, creating a gender care gap.
This gender care gap means women have less time and energy for paid work, leading to lower incomes which reduce women’s intrahousehold bargaining power. This reinforcing feedback loop maintains women's economic dependence on men, and perpetuates other gender inequalities in society.
Figure 3. Reinforcing feedback loop associated with gendered household care roles
Note: the + symbols refer to a direct relationship. As one increases, the other increases. As one decreases, the other decreases. The - symbols refer to an indirect or inverse relationship. As one variable increases the other decreases, and as one decreases the other increases.
What are the financial consequences for women and society of gendered household care roles?
What are the financial consequences for women and society of gendered household care roles?
Gender inequality in household care and domestic work has significant financial consequences for women.
Low pay and lack of control over financial resources
Women spend more time on unpaid care, limiting their opportunities for paid employment. When they can take work, they often take low-paid, part-time or flexible jobs to balance household work and paid work (Figure 4). Even before having children or caring for relatives, women's incomes are often lower than men's. But their incomes decline further after having children, known as the motherhood penalty, an impact that may be greater for those with lower levels of education and who have children at a younger age. Women’s lower incomes make it more likely that they take on unpaid care work when children are born because the opportunity cost, the income women give up, is lower than that of men. All of these factors lead to a significant care-related gender pay gap between men and women.
Figure 4. Difference in share of part-time employment between women and men, Q3 2022 (Credit: Eurostat)
Another issue is that in some countries, particularly in low-income households in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, women may not have control over their own personal income. This can make it more difficult for women to fulfil their own needs and care for others.
Lower lifelong earnings and pensions, increased insecurity
Low pay and years of unpaid household care work results in low lifelong income, known as the gender lifelong earning gap. This gap is worsened by career interruptions to provide care, leading to missed promotions and salary increases. Women’s lower long-term earnings and smaller savings make women financially vulnerable in case of separation or divorce.
Career interruptions and part-time work also reduce women's financial security in old age. Public pensions, often tied to years in paid work, are smaller for women who take time off for caregiving or work part-time. This gender pension gap increases the risk of old age poverty for women (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Percentage of the population in poverty by gender in OECD countries (2018)
(Credit: OECD data, created with Flourish)
What are the political consequences for women and society of gendered care roles?
What are the political consequences for women and society of gendered care roles?
Healthy democracies rely on diverse and widespread political participation by citizens and residents. Care for each other and for the rest of the living world is at the centre of the economy, so everyone’s voices must be heard and their needs addressed, including nature!
The gender care gap reduces the time and opportunity for women’s civic engagement, like attending town meetings and taking local action for change, commoning, running for office, protesting, or lobbying. This reduces women’s influence on political decisions and policies.
Interactive Figure 6 shows that women hold only about 25% of parliamentary seats worldwide, though there are significant differences by country. Hover over the different countries to see the percentage of seats in parliament held by women. Do you notice any patterns among the countries?
Figure 6. Share of women in parliament
(Credit: Our World in Data)
Politicians tend to overlook the importance of care because it is invisible. This leads to low levels of funding for public care services globally. State policies may also undermine the ability of households, communities, and markets to provide adequate care. Women's political participation can improve care decisions and change social norms about gender roles. Higher gender equality correlates with higher human wellbeing, making it a key development indicator.
High-income countries, where female empowerment tends to be higher, like Norway, Sweden, and Finland have over 46% female parliamentary seats. But many low- and middle-income countries also have high percentages of women in parliament. If you look at the data for Senegal (click on the country, Figure 6), you may be able to guess why. Have a look before reading the information below.
Show answer
Show answer
Senegal has a gender parity law requiring political party candidate lists to have equal numbers of men and women. According to the United Nations, 40 of 54 countries in Africa have adopted laws to promote women’s participation and representation at local or national levels. This strategy helps break the reinforcing feedback loops connecting household organisation and wider gender equalities, leading to more resilient economies and societies. More strategies to strengthen households are discussed in Subtopic 2.4.
Figure 6. Senegal has a very high percentage of women in parliament due to its gender parity law
(Image credit: International IDEA, permission pending)
Activity 2.3.2
Activity 2.3.2
Concept: Systems, Power
Skills: Thinking skills (transfer and critical thinking)
Time: Varies, depending on option
Type: Varies, depending on option
Option 1: Gender equality and ecological protection
Time: 40 min, including discussion of the video
Gender equality is not only essential for improving care for humans in society, but also improving care for the rest of the living world. As you learned in this section, women are underrepresented in political decision-making, and this includes international organisations making decisions on climate and other ecological issues.
SHE Changes Climate is a short documentary (ca. 17 minutes) that highlights the importance of women’s voices in policy-making to help protect ecosystems and ensure climate justice.
What key points does the video make about the importance of women’s voices in decision-making?
Option 2: Annotating a feedback loop
Time: 15 minutes
Figure 3 of this section showed a reinforcing feedback loop to explain how gender inequalities in households are related to other gender inequalities in society. The end of the section highlighted the example of Senegal, who has passed a gender parity law to (almost) equalise the numbers of men and women in the national parliament. The goal is to weaken, or end the reinforcing feedback.
On a piece of paper or digital document:
draw the reinforcing feedback loop from Figure 3;
Look at each variable and ask yourself whether and how a gender parity law would impact the variable;
annotate (make notes on the diagram) to show where and how the law would impact the variable;
explain in words, either written or to a partner, what the intended impact is
Do you think that a gender parity law for the national parliament is enough to break the reinforcing feedback loops associated with gender inequality? Use what you have learned so far to discuss some other strategies that could help change the feedback loop.
Figure 3. Reinforcing feedback loop associated with gendered household care roles
Note: the + symbols refer to a direct relationship. As one increases, the other increases. As one decreases, the other decreases. The - symbols refer to an indirect or inverse relationship. As one variable increases the other decreases, and as one decreases the other increases.
Option 3: Data interpretation
Time: 30 minutes
Examine Figure 7 below. Use a data interpretation strategy suggested by your teacher or your course to interpret the data below comparing time spent by men and women on unpaid care and domestic work in different countries.
Data interpretation strategy (if you do not have one):
What is the title of the data? Clarify any questions you have about it
If a graph, what are the axis labels? Clarify any questions you have about them.
Make sure you understand the labels, colours, or other descriptive information provided.
Identify one fact from the data. Identify a second fact from the data.
Is there a pattern in the data? What story does that pattern tell?
If the data has dates, is there a trend over time? What story does that trend tell? (In this case, you can “play” the graph and the dots will move to show what has happened since 2000)
Are there any anomalies (data points that don’t fit the pattern or trend) in the data? What might explain the anomaly?
Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 2.5 Taking Action
Checking for understanding
Checking for understanding
Further exploration
Further exploration
Gender Awareness & Public Policy | Feminist Economics Part 4 - Feminist economist Jayati Ghosh explains gender is so important to consider in countries’ economic policies. The video has many examples of the consequences for women’s unpaid care and domestic work and paid employment of policies that perpetuate and worsen gender inequality. Difficulty level: medium
Prisoner of love: Intersectional Political Economy - Jayati Ghosh interview with Nancy Folbre about the importance of care for creating, developing, and maintaining human capabilities, the way emotional bonds of care reduces bargaining power and makes caregivers vulnerable, the role of patriarchal (male-dominated) institutions in social norms of care and power to exploit the gains from cooperation. Difficulty level: medium
The role of gender in urban mobility: women rights to the city - Article explaining gender differences in use of public transportation and how more inclusive urban planning can better meet women’s needs and improve gender equity. Difficulty level: medium.
Time to Care: Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis - A report from Oxfam International about undervalued care work and its link to inequality. Report is available in Arabic, English, French, Korean and Spanish. Difficulty level: medium.
UN Women - The website of the United Nations organisation dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment, advocating for women's rights, providing resources, and promoting global gender equality initiatives. Difficulty level: medium
Sources
Sources
Coffey, C. et al. (2020). Time to Care: Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis. Oxfam International. https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/time-to-care-unpaid-and-underpaid-care-work-and-the-global-inequality-crisis-620928/
Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, E. , Hasell, J. and Roser, M. (2019). Economic Inequality by Gender. Our World In Data. https://ourworldindata.org/economic-inequality-by-gender.
Federici, S., & Power of Women Collective. (1975). Wages against housework (1st ed.). Power of Women Collective ; Falling Wall Press. Online source: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/postgraduate/masters/modules/femlit/04-federici.pdf
International Labor Organization. Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_633166.pdf
Laubach, B. and Guessoum, S. (2021). Promoting Women’s Political Participation: From Quotas to Parity. UN Women. https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20Africa/Attachments/Publications/2021/12/20211220_UN%20WOMEN%20legal%20guide_office_print.pdf.
Marçal, K. (2018). Who cooked Adam Smith’s dinner? A story about women and economics. Granta.
Tronto, J. C. (2013). Caring democracy: Markets, equality, and justice. New York University Press.
Wirtschaft ist Care. https://wirtschaft-ist-care.org/english/
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Conference of the Parties (COP): the decision-making body of an international convention like the UNFCCC
greenhouse gas: gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat, warming the planet
climate change: a change in the temperature and precipitation patterns in an area, in recent times due to human economic activities
gender inequality: people are not treated equally on the basis of their gender
reinforcing feedback: a situation where change in a system causes further changes that amplify the original change which can lead to tipping points in a system
norm: a social rule for accepted and expected behaviour, can be stated or unstated
kinship: to be related by blood, marriage, adoption, civil recognition, or other long-term commitment
gender care gap: the difference between men and women in the number of hours spent on unpaid household care and domestic work
income: money received from work or investments
intrahousehold bargaining: the negotiation among household members around resources, responsibilities, and decisions
power: the ability to influence events or the behaviour of other people
wage: payment for work
motherhood penalty: the decline in income experienced by women when they have one or more children
opportunity cost: what is given up to get something else
gender pay gap: the difference between men and women in their incomes, largely attributed to the gender care gap
gender lifelong earning gap: the difference between men and women in their lifelong earnings, largely attributed to the gender care gap and associated gender pay gap
pension: money paid under given conditions to a person following retirement or to surviving dependents
gender pension gap: the difference between men and women in their retirement pensions, largely attributed to the gender care gap, gender pay gap, and gender lifelong earnings gap
civic engagement: all the ways that people take action together to address issues of public concern
market: a system where people buy and sell goods and services for a price.
gender equality: when people of different genders are treated equally
indicator: a variable that measures a characteristic of a group of people or an ecosystem
empowerment: the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights
gender parity law: a law that requires equal numbers of men and women in political positions or certain business positions
resilient: able to recover after a disturbance
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