Work time allocation and valuation of women's contribution in household activities in the urban economy of Himachal Pradesh Sharma K.C.1, Devi Lalita2,* 1Himachal Pradesh University Centre for Evening Studies, Shimla, India 2Department of Economics, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India *Corresponding author: lalita.negi02@gmail.com
Online published on 5 January, 2015. Abstract Women constitute half of the population and so their participation in the household and economic activities at par with men is necessary for the development of mankind. The equality of women with men would remain a myth till women become economically self-reliant. Unpaid works affect women “employment” and income, social benefits and well-being. Women's employment is generally low because unpaid work tends to constrain women's participation in the formal, paid labour market. However, poverty and the financial crisis compel women to engage in economic activities and earn income in the informal economy. Thus women perform subsistence and livelihood activities or engage in micro-enterprises and generate income for the household. But their informal activities do not reduce their unpaid work; in fact, they continue to perform both the unpaid and paid work. The present empirical investigation has been conducted in the urban economy of Himachal Pradesh based on primary data collected from 150 sample households on the different size of income groups of 9 wards, scattered over 25 wards selected randomly from the urban area of district Shimla of Himachal Pradesh. Unpaid work has remained invisible, but when valued, it can reflect more realistic estimates of total economic production by taking into account all household activities. This would enhance women's economic status in a positive direction and would contribute to long-term endogenous growth strategies by opening up capacity/capabilities in areas such as health and education. Top Keywords Population, employment, empirical. Top |