Linnette Vassell, Guest Columnist
THIS YEAR, the celebration of International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8 focused on 'the unsung' among us women who make a tremendous contribution in the family and to nation-building, but whose work is generally unrecognised in society.
In a spirited IWD exercise, the Jamaica Household Workers Association, graduated some 50 'unsung' women members who had completed a special training course on job-related and other personal development issues. Then, through the agency of the Bureau of Women's Affairs, another group of some 500 'unsung' women of different backgrounds and occupations, but all from rural Jamaica, came together to celebrate at the Pegasus Hotel.
GENDER-SEGREGATED LABOUR
Household workers were, of course, among the rural women, but there were also farmers, traders, agricultural workers, food processors, craft producers, dressmakers and women with these and many other skills who classify themselves as 'only housewives' and many unemployed women.
Within our gender-segregated labour force, these women, concentrated in the informal sectors, in home-based and unpaid family enterprises, working in individual households, are not generally recognised as making a contribution.
As women we, of course, know better and it felt so good just to share the energy, joy and pride that came with acknowledging each other's contribution and achievement and embracing our identity as women, despite the odds and the low social recognition.
More and more, we are coming to understand that the lower status of occupations in which women predominate is also linked to the fact that we do a larger share of unpaid, or unremunerated work than do men, especially in the area of human reproduction activities in the home as well as in voluntary community management activities.
In the home, the gender division of labour ascribes to women, the cooking, washing, cleaning, care of children, the elderly and the disabled and such 'domestic activities'. These responsibilities demand an enormous amount of time and energy of women, especially those who live in the rural areas.
As reference was made at the Pegasus function to the time and stress associated with collecting wood and cooking by wood fire, with fetching water, sometimes from long distances to meet the needs of the family, many women, remembering, nodded; for others this is still the reality.
Although we do have men fetching water, this is a responsibility carried out mainly by women and children. Where sickness occurs in the family, for whatever reason, it is women who have to spend the time and energy, and if employed, have to stop from work, to care for the sick.
Although these social reproduction activities have deep implications for what happens in the marketplace they are generally excluded from economic analysis and national accounts. This is because the work of the 'unsung', is seen as a 'natural' part and extension of our responsibilities as women, and therefore is not considered 'real work'. There is no payment.
EXCLUDED FROM ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
This failure to count and analyse in quantifiable terms the reproductive activities at the household influences the assessment of what is a fair minimum wage, payable to a household worker for example, or to occupations like teaching and nursing, in which professional women are concentrated.
The recent Rights of Spouses Act has set a very significant precedent by placing equal value on monetary contribution and unpaid labour in determining the sharing of property among spouses, married or unmarried. It is an important step towards the valuing of unpaid work.
We need to move from this position to one in which the Ministry of Finance, the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the other responsible agencies will undertake studies and analyses to lead the society in making determinations on this aspect of national development.
It is, therefore, in our interest as women, individually and through our organisations, to encourage and support the strengthening of organisations like the Jamaica Household Workers Association and the network of rural women that has been formed.
Such organisations, by building the capacity of their members, enable them to advance the gender interests of women in their particular sectors and of all women in general in relation to this matter of the valuing of unpaid work.
HELPING TO ADVANCE
At the individual level, those of us as women who are employers of household workers must ourselves re-assess the value we place on such work done in our homes and ensure that we are fair-minded and respectful employers. We can individually help to strengthen the economic and social base of household workers by encouraging and assisting them to register and contribute to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and to the National Housing Trust (NHT).
I was surprised and disappointed to find that less that 25 per cent of the household workers attending the JHWA were registered in these state programmes. Failure to contribute to these programmes means that women are unable to access important benefits, like maternity leave.
Data gathered from the National Insurance Office has shown that between 1998 and 2002, only 96 household workers applied for maternity leave benefits. This points to many issues, including lack of information, and low NIS registration.
In addition to conducting a national campaign for NIS and NHT registration, women's movements in Jamaica need to put forward a research agenda that enables us to unearth information on all aspects of women's employment in the 'domestic' sectors in which we are at present concentrated.
We have to come up with recommendations to advance women's rights in the economy and society, by turning the spotlight onto these areas in which we are making significant contribution to national development in the urban and rural setting.
Linnette Vassell is a social development consultant. E-mails can be sent to cvas@cwjamaica.com
