KRI PRESS |
Oct 3, 2019
Khazanah Research Institute launches first ever report on unpaid care work
Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) today published “Time to Care: Gender Inequality, Unpaid Care Work and Time Use Survey”, the first study to take an in-depth look at the time use habits of a segment of the Malaysian population since 2003. The findings shed light on the important but largely invisible issue of unpaid care work, as well as its implications for gender inequality and policy.
The report covers the following key topics:
i) the rising care burden in Malaysia;
ii) KRI’s pilot time use study;
iii) the impact of unpaid care work on gender inequality and the labour market;
iv) the landscape of childcare in Malaysia; and
v) policy aspirations of care as a productive economic sector.
Christopher Choong said, “We need to seriously think about having a time use survey as part of our national statistical apparatus if we want to advance gender equality and address the care burden.”
The key takeaways from the report are:
**• Care work is becoming an urgent issue for the nation.**
Life expectancy of Malaysians has increased 16.1% from 1970 to 2017 while total fertility rate has decreased by 66.7% concurrently, translating into a higher care burden. The sheer scale of unpaid care also worsens gender inequalities both in the workplace and the household, since women bear most of the burden for care. Moreover, current measures of poverty and inequality do not factor in unpaid care, so we do not have a true picture of household living standards.
**• There is much untapped potential in Malaysia’s care sector, but care work remains greatly underappreciated.** Care work, especially unpaid care, is the unsung hero of the nation as it enables all other parts of an economy to thrive. But because household work does not require a market transaction, it does not have a “price” and is therefore not reflected in traditional estimates of the economy. The “value” it generates cannot be quantified and shared with those who provide care.
**• KRI embarked on a pilot time use survey (TUS) to obtain a baseline for Malaysia’s unpaid care work.**
Due to the lack of comprehensive time use data in Malaysia’s national statistics, KRI initiated a TUS to gather empirical evidence on the relationship between unpaid care work and labour market outcomes, and to attach a measure of value to unpaid care work. The results suggest that more hours spent on unpaid care have detrimental effects on an individual’s ability to participate longer in market work.
**• Women experience a “double burden” of family and career, as most of the responsibility for unpaid care falls on them.** Our TUS confirms that women face a double burden: they shoulder more responsibility for unpaid care than men despite working a similar number of hours in paid work. This burden extends across multiple fronts as women often have to multitask as they provide care, all the while being less mobile than men. Women also have to take the lead in managing care activities while men play a supporting role.
**• Malaysian childcare services are hampered by affordability, accessibility.** Most families use informal forms of childcare, relying mostly on relatives and unregistered childcare centres. Informal childcare providers are unregulated and are often associated with poorer quality of care. Meanwhile, most formal childcare centres in Malaysia are not operating at full capacity. Formal childcare services may be inaccessible and unaffordable in places, with some households in Kuala Lumpur paying 15% of their income on childcare.
**• If care is seen as a productive sector, Malaysia can create new jobs, boost economic growth and reduce gender inequality.** Care work should be viewed as a source of economic growth in its own right, not only to improve women’s employment but also to create new employment opportunities within the sector itself. Our simulations indicate that higher investments into the care sector could yield significant returns, including an increase in female labour force participation to 63% within five years, the creation of over 16,000 jobs in the childcare industry and higher real GDP growth of as much as 0.4%.
The report covers the following key topics:
i) the rising care burden in Malaysia;
ii) KRI’s pilot time use study;
iii) the impact of unpaid care work on gender inequality and the labour market;
iv) the landscape of childcare in Malaysia; and
v) policy aspirations of care as a productive economic sector.
Christopher Choong said, “We need to seriously think about having a time use survey as part of our national statistical apparatus if we want to advance gender equality and address the care burden.”
The key takeaways from the report are:
**• Care work is becoming an urgent issue for the nation.**
Life expectancy of Malaysians has increased 16.1% from 1970 to 2017 while total fertility rate has decreased by 66.7% concurrently, translating into a higher care burden. The sheer scale of unpaid care also worsens gender inequalities both in the workplace and the household, since women bear most of the burden for care. Moreover, current measures of poverty and inequality do not factor in unpaid care, so we do not have a true picture of household living standards.
**• There is much untapped potential in Malaysia’s care sector, but care work remains greatly underappreciated.** Care work, especially unpaid care, is the unsung hero of the nation as it enables all other parts of an economy to thrive. But because household work does not require a market transaction, it does not have a “price” and is therefore not reflected in traditional estimates of the economy. The “value” it generates cannot be quantified and shared with those who provide care.
**• KRI embarked on a pilot time use survey (TUS) to obtain a baseline for Malaysia’s unpaid care work.**
Due to the lack of comprehensive time use data in Malaysia’s national statistics, KRI initiated a TUS to gather empirical evidence on the relationship between unpaid care work and labour market outcomes, and to attach a measure of value to unpaid care work. The results suggest that more hours spent on unpaid care have detrimental effects on an individual’s ability to participate longer in market work.
**• Women experience a “double burden” of family and career, as most of the responsibility for unpaid care falls on them.** Our TUS confirms that women face a double burden: they shoulder more responsibility for unpaid care than men despite working a similar number of hours in paid work. This burden extends across multiple fronts as women often have to multitask as they provide care, all the while being less mobile than men. Women also have to take the lead in managing care activities while men play a supporting role.
**• Malaysian childcare services are hampered by affordability, accessibility.** Most families use informal forms of childcare, relying mostly on relatives and unregistered childcare centres. Informal childcare providers are unregulated and are often associated with poorer quality of care. Meanwhile, most formal childcare centres in Malaysia are not operating at full capacity. Formal childcare services may be inaccessible and unaffordable in places, with some households in Kuala Lumpur paying 15% of their income on childcare.
**• If care is seen as a productive sector, Malaysia can create new jobs, boost economic growth and reduce gender inequality.** Care work should be viewed as a source of economic growth in its own right, not only to improve women’s employment but also to create new employment opportunities within the sector itself. Our simulations indicate that higher investments into the care sector could yield significant returns, including an increase in female labour force participation to 63% within five years, the creation of over 16,000 jobs in the childcare industry and higher real GDP growth of as much as 0.4%.
related to this event
Want more stories like these in your inbox?
