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On the Measurement of Unpaid Domestic Labour in

Patriarchal Households

Sumita and Pradip Baksi

Measurement of unpaid domestic labour in patriarchal householdsmay be carried out according to the following logic:

1. Let us assume that a household H contains just 2 members F

and M; both of them have equal skills, sound health and, they are

of the same age, say, 18+. Such households do exist in our cities

and villages.

2. Let us assume again, that if M goes out into the labour market

and earns, say, 100 Rupees per day and, that M does not do anydomestic work; F stays at home and does the entire domestic

work. Such arrangements are very common in patriarchal

households.

3. M thus gains the scope of earning 100 Rupees per day,

because F does all the domestic work. Had M remained at home

to do all the work done by F, then M would not have been present

at the labour market and, hence would have earned 0 Rupee.

4. It may seem to be a fair exchange then, if we decide that the

price of all the domestic work done by F is 100 Rupees per day. It

may seem so but, it is incorrect.

5. Let us assume that M gives away the sum of 100 Rupees to F

at the end of the day; then M will have 0 Rupee, no food, no

shelter for the night. That does not happen in patriarchal

households. M gets the best food, night shelter, bed, sexual

services, clean clothes, other care by parting with at most a

part of 100 Rupees. This part gets progressively smaller and

smaller as the daily earnings of M get larger and larger. In the

case of some M, say a worker engaged in financial speculation,

with a very large daily earning, this part may tend to be

infinitesimal.

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6. Now, from the point of view of F, by remaining out of the labour

market, F lost at least 100 rupees per day; this is the price of lost

opportunities of F. further, by not being paid at all for all the

domestic work done at the end of the day, F lost almost another

100 Rupees per day. In the case of some F, say a businessmanager or doctor or teacher or entertainer, with higher

capabilities to earn in the labour market, the lost opportunities

price could have been higher than the daily wages of M.

7. Thus, the price of daily domestic work of F should at least be

measured as twice the daily wage of M. In Rupee terms if M gets

100 Rupees per day by not doing any domestic work and, by

working only the labour market, then F should get at least 200

Rupees for doing all the domestic work per day.

8. We said at leastin #7 above, because we assumed that M and

F get complementary sexual pleasure from their mutual domestic

sexual encounters. If, however, F does not derive any sexual

pleasure from M and, is required to provide sexual services to M

as a part of domestic duty/work, then the price of such services

may be computed from the going market rates of sexual services,

for the corresponding social slot to which the household Hbelongs; and that price, say, 100 or 500 or 1000 Rupees per shot

should be added to the price of domestic work done by F.

2 July 2012

Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

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