What does SDL look like?
“So these industrious Bees do hourly strive
To bring their Loads of Honey to the Hive;
Their sordid Owners always reap the Gains,
And poorly recompense their Toil and Pains. “
To bring their Loads of Honey to the Hive;
Their sordid Owners always reap the Gains,
And poorly recompense their Toil and Pains. “
(The Woman’s Labour, Mary Collier’s)
Well, the above poem is an apt symbol of a woman’s labour that goes unrecognised. A quick observation in a typical family or an Indian advertisement would be enough to capture the subconsciously ignored – Sexual Division of Labour. Are we sabotaging the aspect of dignity while considering a mother’s care and love as love? Yes, we do. This stems from the strong belief in sexual division of labour.
The sexual division of labour is the delegation of different tasks between males and females. That too, a woman’s labor is necessarily unpaid or underpaid! Traditionally, the role of men and women have been viewed and accepted, based on sexual division of labour. This gendered tasks gets normalised in a patriarchal society. For example, a woman is expected to manage the household while the men are expected to play the role of the breadwinner of the family. This is based on the idea of inherent biological differences between the sexes. A well-known feminist, Heidi Hartmann argues that “the material base upon which patriarchy rests lies most fundamentally in men’s control over women’s labour-power”.
Reasons for Sexual Division of Labour
- Culture of Normalisation :
The roots of gender stratification are deeply rooted in cultural values and reinforced by ideologies that promote male superiority. Gender stratification refers to the inequalities between men and women regarding wealth, power and privilege. Meigs (1990) highlights a chauvinistic ideology originating from men’s role as warriors. An example from an Amazinian horticultural society where men are responsible for hunting, fishing and clearing land while women are responsible for planting, harvesting and processing the agricultural crops. This symbolises that male domination in traditional societies. Martin and Voorteries (1975) argue that female participation in agriculture declines when animal labour takes over manual labour. In India, the women workforce participation in the agricultural sector is high but the control over land, inheritance rights, decision making about the types of crops or investment of the money earned aren’t considered as an arena for women.
- The Patriarchal Structure:
Feminists argue that the sexual division of labour which disproportionately affects women goes beyond economic exploitation, it is the presence of inherent mindset and acceptance of the patriarchal belief and ideology. The presence of patriarchal structures across sectors from politics to the cinema creates conditions for the greater acceptance of the Sexual Division of Labour. For example, in Indian movies and advertisements, the kitchen and the makeup table are considered to be a domain of women, so the utensils or the makeup industry capitalise heavily on these stereotypes. This also subjects women’s control over her own sexuality. This normalises the gender-violence against women, which is evident in non-recognition of marital rape in India.
- Social Stratification Theory
From the Marxist Lens, the issue of gender inequality was addressed in terms of the division of labour, which considers women as a reserve army whose labour can be tapped into at times of labour shortages and wartime. The idea of SDL is also based on the assumption that gender relations are hetrosexual. In feminist anthropology, the relationship between gender and social stratification is conceptualized. For example, political kinship and access to symbols of power(land) form the basis of this social Inequality.
- Unequal Access to Resources
In cross cultural perspectives, the unequal access to resources, opportunities and rights between men and women reinforce the idea of SDL. This unequal distribution of resources, for example unequal access to equal education and employment opportunities. This in turn forces women to take up low-paid or unpaid work which is an important aspect of SDL.
The impact of Sexual Division of Labour
- Loss of Dignity:
This leads to widespread subordination of women across various cultures and societies. This has been one of the strong causes for the feminist movements for equality in rights. During times of war or any natural calamity, research reveals that women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change as the responsibility of gathering wood and water falls upon them. This is a direct correlation between sexual division of labour and climate change.
- Loss of Entitlement over work :
According to UN Women, women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The unequal pay structure across sectors and industries hinders a woman’s financial independence. Even if the prospects of employment for women improve, this puts women into the trap of double burden, wherein they are responsible for both household tasks and paid work outside the home.The unequal access to education and economic resources also leads to unequal access to health care. The low sex ratio also favours the SDL.
- Loss of Power in the family :
SDL is reinforced by the idea that household work is care work therefore doesn’t deserve to be paid. The unequal burden of household work on women discourages them from pursuing their careers or dreams outside the kitchen. This financial dependence on the male figures of the household makes them vulnerable to domestic abuse. This undermines the dignity of women.
- An underrepresented category:
The idea of the head of the family as a male figure reinforces the idea of SDL. Women in the households are considered as someone else’s ‘property’, which leads to persistent discrimination against the girl child and normalises the culture of child marriage. The underrepresentation of women at the policy aka decision making table whether at home or at workplace leads to their exclusion from the halls of power. Their voice remains unheard and their problems underrepresented.
What can break the SDL?
Gender mainstreaming is the need of the hour. This means targeted policies in favour of women to encourage them to take up non-conventional career paths like business ventures, sports, politics and engineering domains. Moreover, at the household level, men can equally take up the task of household work, thereby setting examples and breaking conventional taboos. There should be mindset shift that all labour should be gender-neutral and equally valued.The good thing is that the mindset of the society, especially the Genz generation is fast changing, calling for reforms like recognition of unpaid household work and equal division of work in the household. This would definitely help in bringing about the much needed gender revolution.
