manual: women workers' rights and gender equality - International ...

‘I see, you come home for lunch?’
‘No she brings it to the field’
‘And after that?’
‘She stays at the field do some weeding and waters the vegetables if necessary’
‘What do you do?’
‘I must go and discuss things and have a drink in the village’
‘And after that?’
‘I go home to have dinner that my wife prepared’
‘Does she go to bed after dinner?’
No, I do, I have to work again the next day, she cleans the dishes and takes care of the
children’
With a wondering voice: ‘But I thought you said your wife does not work’
A bit irritated: ‘No, of course she does not work, I told you she stays at home’
• Start a discussion about the value attached to certain activities using the following questions:
- What do they think of the story, is this a common situation?
- Do people get a higher status, i.e. are they more important, when they are involved in paid activities,
why or why not?
- Do the participants think this is fair, why or why not?
- What can be done to get more recognition for household activities?
- What do they think of the division of work as it is?
- Would they like to change something? If yes, what and how do they plan to do it.
Step 4
• Summarize the discussion. Most probably the man does most of the income-generating
activities. Make clear that household activities are often not rewarded, nor in terms of income
neither in terms of appreciation. It should be clear that it is a lot of work and actually a money
value can be attached to it.
Notes for the trainer
In most societies the activities that generate income are mostly done by men and the household
tasks and unpaid family labour are done by women. In Asia, many women work for money to fulfil
the basic needs of the family. However, even if women earn as much or more than their husbands,
their income is considered to be of secondary importance. In many societies the paid and the
unpaid work done by women is considered to be less important. In practice, however, this is not
true.
It is important to discuss the actual value of women’s work. During this session it is very important
to stress that the economic value of unpaid activities is very high. If women would get paid for this
work, it would be very costly. Therefore more recognition for these activities is appropriate.
The story expresses a common thought about the activities done by women and the value attached
to these activities. It is a good starter for discussions about the division of work and the values
attached to it.
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