Women's unpaid work in the Pacific an 'invisible" resource [1]
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 12:51. Updated on Friday, September 12, 2014 - 16:34.
In Pacific economies women's work in homes and communities is invisible or unaccounted for in formal economic equations. There is a need to recognise that a country's resources also include these human and community resources, Professor Marilyn Waring of New Zealand, said at the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW53) in New York.
Pacific Islands Forum members gave their perspective on the theme of CSW53, "Equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men". This year is the 53rd session of CSW. It runs from March 2-13.
The well-attended Pacific Islands event was chaired by Hon. O'Love Jacobsen, Niue's Minister of Health, Women's Affairs, Public Works and Energy, and chairperson of the Forum delegation to CSW; and featured Professor Marilyn Waring of New Zealand; Luagalau Foisagaasina Eteuati Shon, CEO Ministry of Women, Samoa; and Winnie Byanyima, Director, Gender Team, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP) They took the opportunity to present the Pacific context and raise policy initiatives to support more sharing of responsibilities.
According to Professor Waring, the 'invisibility' of women's unpaid work in the Pacific must be viewed in the context of the informal economies common in our region.
'While the focus in global dialogues is often on unpaid care giving and domestic responsibilities, this is only a fraction of the work carried out disproportionately by women in the Pacific and completely unaccounted for in national accounts. There is also a need to recognise that a country's resources are not merely fiscal or monetary but also include human and community resources,... she said.
Solomon Islands
Waring gave the example of the Solomon Islands, where close to 80% of all 'economic' activities such as transportation and agriculture are at the subsistence or informal level. But while these activities are very visible at the community level, work in homes and communities is invisible or unaccounted for in formal economic equations. She said relevant data are needed to quantify women...s contributions through the practical application of time use surveys. This will provide a truer picture of Pacific economies and help inform strategic policy interventions.
Winnie Byanyima of UNDP agreed, saying that in the global economic debate, there is an urgent need to recognise and understand the role of women in subsistence economies.
Speaking on a report recently released by the UNDP Pacific Centre, 'Making invisible work more visible: Gender and time use surveys with a focus on the Pacific and unpaid care work', she said that time use surveys can assist Pacific governments to include women in national economic planning and budgets, especially in societies where subsistence production is shaped by tradition and religion, which impacts on the status of women.
Samoa
Luagalau Foisagaasina Eteuati Shon outlined the approach being taking in Samoa, where she said the government was placing emphasis on supporting community economic action and ensuring more support for families who provided care work, particularly through micro-enterprise programmes for women.
Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body in this area. Every year, representatives of member states gather at United Nations headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and the advancement of women worldwide. For more information on CSW 53 visit CSW53 [2].
- Treva Braun, SPC Human Development Adviser (Gender Equality). Monday 9 March 2009.