Duties

Unpaid Domestic Duties

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Unpaid domestic duties in South Africa: what they are, who does them, and why they matter

In South Africa, unpaid domestic duties – such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, water and fuel collection, childcare, and caring for sick or older family members – form a large but often invisible part of the economy. These activities are not paid and are mostly carried out in private households, yet they are essential for the functioning of society and the broader labour market.

Although the website listed in the brief, duties.co.za, exists and is registered as a .co.za domain, it currently does not provide publicly accessible content about unpaid domestic duties. Because of this, all factual information in this article is drawn from other credible South African and international sources.

What are unpaid domestic duties?

In policy and statistics, unpaid domestic duties are usually grouped under “unpaid domestic and care work” or “unpaid household services.” The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines unpaid care work as “all unpaid services provided within a household for its members, including care of persons and housework” such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for children and elderly or ill household members, typically performed by women and girls and not counted in GDP (International Labour Organization – Care Work and Care Jobs).

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) uses a similar concept in its time-use surveys, which measure how much time people spend in “unpaid housework and care work,” including:

  • Cleaning, laundry and other housework
  • Cooking and food preparation
  • Caring for children and other household members
  • Collecting water or fuel, and other household-support activities

(Statistics South Africa – Time Use Survey 2010, see definitions and activity codes).

These unpaid domestic duties are not counted as formal employment and do not generate direct income, but they support paid work by maintaining households, raising future workers, and caring for those who cannot work.

How much unpaid domestic work is done in South Africa?

Time-use data shows that unpaid domestic duties occupy a substantial portion of South Africans’ day, especially for women.

In the Time Use Survey 2010, Stats SA found that:

  • South African women spent an average of 3 hours and 30 minutes per day on “unpaid services for household and family members”, while men spent about 1 hour and 48 minutes per day.
  • When combining “unpaid housework” and “care-giving,” women did about double the amount of unpaid domestic work compared to men.

(Statistics South Africa – Time Use Survey 2010, Tables 3.1 and 3.2).

More recent analysis by UN Women and partners, drawing on similar data and methodologies, shows that globally and in South Africa, women continue to take on the largest share of unpaid domestic and care work, which impacts their time available for paid employment and education (UN Women – Progress of the World’s Women 2015–2016).

Gender inequality and unpaid domestic duties

The unequal distribution of unpaid domestic duties is a major driver of gender inequality in South Africa:

Key gendered patterns identified in South African data include:

Economic value of unpaid domestic work

Even though unpaid domestic duties are not traded in markets, several studies estimate their economic value by assigning wage rates to the hours spent.

The South African Presidency’s Development Indicators 2012 report, using earlier time-use data, notes that if unpaid household work were assigned a wage similar to that of domestic workers, its value would be equivalent to a significant share of formal GDP (The Presidency – Development Indicators 2012, see section on unpaid work).

At a global scale, the ILO has estimated that the economic value of unpaid care work is equivalent to around 9% of global GDP, with women providing more than three-quarters of this value (International Labour Organization – Care Work and Care Jobs). While country-specific values differ, South Africa follows the same pattern of heavy reliance on women’s unpaid domestic labour.

These estimates underline that unpaid domestic duties are not just “private” matters; they effectively subsidise the wider economy by providing essential services without pay.

Unpaid domestic duties and labour market participation

Unpaid domestic duties directly affect whether, how, and on what terms people – especially women – can engage in paid work.

Stats SA’s Gender Series Volume 2 shows that:

  • Women’s labour-force participation is lower than men’s, and one of the reasons often reported for being out of the labour force is “family responsibilities” or “home duties.”
  • Women with young children, in particular, face more barriers to full-time employment due to childcare and domestic responsibilities.

(Statistics South Africa – Gender Series, Volume 2: Economic Empowerment).

The National Planning Commission has emphasised that unpaid domestic and care responsibilities need to be recognised and reduced through public services, infrastructure and labour-market policies if South Africa is to achieve more inclusive growth and gender equality (National Planning Commission – National Development Plan 2030).

Legal recognition: domestic work vs unpaid domestic duties

It is important to distinguish between:

  • Unpaid domestic duties performed within the household by family or household members, and
  • Paid domestic work, where a domestic worker is employed to perform tasks in a private household.

South African labour law provides protections for paid domestic workers, but not for unpaid domestic duties:

However, family members performing unpaid domestic duties in their own households are not classified as employees under these acts and therefore do not receive wages, social insurance, or labour rights for this work. Their contribution is recognised only indirectly in social and gender policies.

Policy attention to unpaid domestic duties

South Africa has started to address unpaid domestic duties within broader gender and social policy frameworks:

  • The White Paper on Families in South Africa highlights that unpaid care work, largely done by women, supports family functioning and calls for policies that provide childcare services, parental leave and flexible working arrangements (Department of Social Development – White Paper on Families in South Africa).
  • The National Development Plan 2030 calls for the expansion of early childhood development (ECD) services, improved water and electricity provision, and better transport infrastructure, all of which can reduce the time women spend on unpaid domestic tasks (National Development Plan 2030).
  • The Commission for Gender Equality recommends that unpaid care and domestic work be recognised and reduced through better public services, and that more men share responsibility for household and care tasks (Commission for Gender Equality – Submission to Parliament).

These policy directions treat unpaid domestic duties as a key structural issue in gender equality rather than a purely private choice.

Measuring unpaid domestic duties: time-use surveys

Because unpaid domestic duties are not recorded in standard employment or income statistics, time-use surveys are the main tool used to measure them.

Stats SA’s Time Use Survey 2010:

  • Collected detailed 24-hour diaries from respondents, recording activities in 30-minute intervals.
  • Categorised activities into production, unpaid domestic and care work, and personal/leisure time.
  • Provided disaggregated results by sex, age, location and poverty status, making it possible to see how unpaid domestic duties differ across groups.

(Statistics South Africa – Time Use Survey 2010).

Future time-use surveys, once released, are expected to provide updated information on unpaid domestic duties, incorporating changes in infrastructure, service access, and social norms.

Why unpaid domestic duties matter for development

Recognising and addressing unpaid domestic duties is important for several interconnected reasons:

  1. Gender equality
    Unequal unpaid domestic duties reinforce gender gaps in employment, income, and political participation. Aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5.4 on recognising and valuing unpaid care and domestic work is central to achieving gender equality (United Nations – Sustainable Development Goals, Target 5.4).

  2. Poverty and inequality reduction
    Women in low-income households often carry the heaviest unpaid domestic work burden, particularly where basic services are lacking. Improving access to water, electricity, sanitation and childcare services can directly reduce their time poverty (Statistics South Africa – Time Use Survey 2010).

  3. Economic growth and labour supply
    When unpaid domestic and care responsibilities are reduced and shared more equally, more women can participate in paid employment or self-employment, contributing to economic growth. This is consistent with the National Development Plan’s focus on increasing women’s economic participation (National Development Plan 2030).

  4. Social protection and care systems
    As South Africa faces an ageing population in some segments and a high burden of chronic illness, relying solely on unpaid family care is unsustainable. Building stronger public and community-based care systems can relieve some of the unpaid care pressure on households (Department of Social Development – White Paper on Families).

Conclusion

Unpaid domestic duties in South Africa consist of a wide range of unpaid household and care activities that are essential but largely invisible in traditional economic and labour statistics. Evidence from Statistics South Africa, the Commission for Gender Equality, the National Planning Commission, and international bodies like the ILO and UN Women confirms that women perform the majority of these unpaid domestic duties, with significant consequences for gender equality, economic empowerment, and social development.

While labour laws protect paid domestic workers, unpaid domestic duties remain outside the scope of formal employment regulation. Current policy discussions in areas such as family policy, gender equality, and social development increasingly recognise the need to measure, value, and reduce the unequal burden of unpaid domestic duties. Doing so is vital for achieving a more equitable and inclusive South African society.

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