World · India Bureau
Indian Working Women Face Double Burden as Household Duties Remain Unequal
A new report reveals that while the number of employed women in India has grown significantly, the division of domestic responsibilities has not kept pace. Working women continue to shoulder the majority of household tasks alongside their professional duties.
LSN India ·
India's workforce participation among women has surged in recent years, yet gender disparities in domestic labour distribution persist, according to findings released in a new study. The report highlights a stark imbalance wherein employed women are managing both career obligations and household responsibilities without corresponding shifts in how families divide domestic work.
The data indicates that working women in India face a pronounced gap compared to their male counterparts in two critical areas: salary levels and leisure time. Despite increasing numbers of women entering the professional workforce, compensation differences remain substantial, while free time available to women continues to lag significantly behind that of men.
Household chores and caregiving duties remain predominantly assigned to women, even as their participation in the paid workforce has expanded. This persistent inequality suggests that societal expectations around domestic roles have not evolved in tandem with economic participation, placing additional strain on employed women who effectively work a double shift.
The findings underscore the need for structural changes in how families and workplaces approach the distribution of household responsibilities, experts suggest, to enable women to balance professional and personal demands more equitably.