Rectifying the Invisibility of Women’s Work: Evidence from a Few Villages and Slums

Aasha Kapur Mehta () and Sanjay Pratap ()
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Aasha Kapur Mehta: Institute for Human Development (IHD), Centre for Gender Studies
Sanjay Pratap: Indian Institute of Public Administration

Chapter 3 in Women and Work in India: Challenges, Opportunities and Perspectives for Policy, 2026, pp 35-55 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Despite recent improvements, national estimates of FWPR substantially under-report women’s work and contribution to GDP. Based on field work conducted in four villages and four slums in different parts of India, this Chapter argues that much of women’s contribution to economic activities in the informal sector is subsumed within the household and attributed to men. Women make kathputlis and golgappas, but men are puppeteers and golgappa vendors. Working jointly with family members on farms, in shops and in the household results in women’s contribution often becoming unrecognised and unpaid. While there is substantial scope for reducing drudgery and increasing the productivity of their tasks, the continued invisibility of women workers and their contribution to the economic survival of their households must be rectified. In addition to their heavy economic work burden, the bulk of the repetitive drudgery of cooking, cleaning, washing and caring or household chores is performed by women.

Keywords: Gender gaps; Female labour force participation rate (FLFPR); Female worker population ratio (FWPR); Woh kuch nahin karti (she does nothing); Paid and unpaid work; Underestimation of women’s work; Statistical invisibility of women’s work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-6103-2_3

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