Sexual division of labour
Also called: Gendered division of labour · Topic: Gender, Religion and Caste in Politics · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "Gender, Religion and Caste"
Meaning
The sexual division of labour is a way of sharing work in which women do all the work inside the home, or organise it through domestic helpers, while men work outside. Housework includes cooking, cleaning, washing, tailoring and looking after children. This work is unpaid, so it is not counted or valued. NCERT shows that the split is social, not natural. Men are happy to do the same jobs when they are paid for them. Because of it, women are tied to the home and have a very small role in public life.
Example
At home, women do the cooking and sewing for no pay. Yet most tailors and hotel cooks are men, because outside the home the same work earns money.
Don't confuse with
- Public-private distinction: the sexual division of labour is about who does which tasks. The public-private distinction is the wider idea that women belong to the home and men to public life and politics.