Homemakers Should be Paid: Price Tag or Necessary Income?

8 min readJul 15, 2021

Household work must be paid as a salaried profession VS ‘gratuitous services rendered by a woman with true love and devotion to her husband and children cannot be equated.

One early morning, while my grandmother, mother and I sipped hot tea, floating in and out of conversation, I glanced at the news notifications on my phone.

“Hey mum,” I said. She looked at me.

“It says here that they (political leaders) say that homemakers should be paid. What do you think?”

“Of course!,” she said, instantly. “I would like to be paid.”

I laughed and smiled but I wondered to myself, what effects would this suggestion have if implemented? Good, bad or a middle-ground?

The Shift from House-wife to Homemaker

I did not know a word like ‘homemaker’ existed until I was having a conversation with friends. When asked what my mother’s profession was, I replied, “house-wife.” My then best friend corrected me saying, “home-maker.”

Understanding the meaning of homemaker made such a vast difference to the way I introduce my mother’s profession then on. I have always had great respect for the things she does and nonsense she has to put up with according to the invisible-but-forever-present societal and traditional rules but even a label made an even bigger difference.

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only — and that is to support the ultimate career” — C.S. Lewis

The Debate

On 21st December 2020, politician Kamal Haasan of the Makkal Needhi Maiam’s (MNM) party promised a salary to homemakers during a campaign in Kancheepuram district. The conversation, or rather debate, around paying homemakers erupted when Congress MP Shashi Tharoor supported Haasan’s promise.

According to the The Quint, on 5 January 2021, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, while deciding on a motor accident case and determining the income of the non-earning victim — a homemaker — observed that the labour, services, and sacrifices of homemakers contribute in a very real way to the economic condition of the family, and the economy of the nation; regardless of the fact that it may have been traditionally excluded from economic analyses.

Film Actress Kangana Ranaut was quick to give her two cents saying that this decision would equal putting a price on “gratuitous services rendered by a woman with true love and devotion to her husband and children”.

Don’t put a price tag on sex we have with our love, don’t pay us for mothering our own, we don’t need salary for being the Queens of our own little kingdom our home,stop seeing everything as business. Surrender to your woman she needs all of you not just your love/respect/salary.
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 5, 2021

In response, Shashi Tharoor said,

The Standard Narrative

In simple words,the man of the house is the ‘bread-winner’ and household chores don’t need monetary or even verbal appreciation. While the narrative might be changing across the country for some, many are possibly stuck on repeat.

The authors of the 1940 report titled ‘Women’s Role in Planned Economy’ (WRPE) prepared by a sub-committee for women under the National Planning Committee (NPC), noted,

“We feel that this work, which at present receives no recognition either from the State or society, should be recognised as having an economic value and that work in the home should not be considered in any way inferior to the other type of work done outside the home.”

The Grey Area

While doing research, I came across various news articles that took different approaches to ask questions that needed to be answered if this promise were to become a reality.

How will housework be quantified?
If a man has more than one wife, will the salary be divided between the two or will each get their due share?
Are these payments exempted from tax?
What if a homemaker does not have her own bank account? Would that mean the money gets credited to her spouse or in-laws?
What are the guidelines in place to ensure that the money goes straight to the homemaker?
Does this exclude the possibility and ability to prevent any harm that might fall upon the homemaker receiving salary?
Who is answerable to questions like “do you need to be paid for your duty?” and those that follow this rigid mindset?
What happens if men and women share the housework?
If the homemaker is a husband, do the rules change or are not applicable at all?
Is this applicable to homemakers below the poverty line only? If yes, how is this justified? Who is to say that homemakers in supposedly well to do families are living their best life?
Does this initiative put women back into the kitchen and the house help out of jobs?
Is this applicable only to homemakers who are married? What about single/widowed/divorced women staying at home to take care of the elderly, sick, bed-ridden and so on?

Economic Survey 2020 says that more than half the women who never cross over the high school threshold end up doing housework. Continuing education increases women’s chances at building a career. Here then a question arises, what about women who have education and skills but are forced to restrict themselves to household chores?

The list of questions continues in order to aim for better clarity, especially after reading a very angry piece by the Editor of OpIndia. To summarize, the editor expresses great outrage towards Tharoor, stating that he is trying to put homemakers and house help on the same level. However she also raises a good point — if the government pays homemakers, that would mean it is the public’s money (collected from taxes), putting homeworkers under constant scrutiny as to how they spend their time and money. If the public can see the upside of this monetary benefit as a way of empowerment, will only then this initiative make sense?

Stay-at-home Mom vs Working Mom

Some people believe that Cinema is a portrayal of Indian society. Sometimes fiction, sometimes hopeful. I believe that aspects of Indian society surely inspire story-lines. Why wouldn’t they?

During marriage proposal scenes where the boy’s family comes to see the girl, it is often is expected of the soon-to-be-bride to sacrifice her job to take care of children and the in laws. Working women are somehow viewed as a spouse’s and her child’s enemy. Why would a woman in her right mind choose to work when she could enjoy the joys of being a homemaker? It’s almost selfish. Or is it?

“I don’t want to spend one hour in the day with my child and then rush off to work. Why did I have her then? I want to be there for her as a mother. Seeing her grow up can’t be quantified.” — Mira Rajput Kapoor, at an event on Women’s Day, 2017

Women’s participation in the job market often declines with a rise in educational attainments. As per a new study by Esha Chatterjee of the University of Maryland and co-authors, highly educated women are more likely to marry more educated men with high incomes, and hence remain out of the labour force. Unfortunately societal pressure, stereotypical thinking, orthodox practices and beliefs can lead to under or zero appreciation and respect because it is simply expected of them to be a homemaker. They don’t have a choice.

Diane Coffey et al (EPW, 2018) “Explicit Prejudice: Evidence from a New Survey” Get the data Created with Datawrapper

In reference to the Progress of The World’s Women 2019–2020 report, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that families, in all their diversity,

“can be critical drivers of gender equality, provided decision-makers deliver policies rooted in the reality of how people live today, with women’s rights at their core…Around the world, we are witnessing concerted efforts to deny women’s agency and their right to make their own decisions in the name of protecting ‘family values’”, Mlambo-Ngcuka .

Public Opinion

After reading opinion pieces and Quora answers while writing this, here are some arguments that I came across. Share your views on the same in the comments!

For: “If husband is earning for family only, then woman also working for family only”

Against: ““it is not a job. It’s just love and duty”.
“If she gets a definite portion from her husband’s salary every month it will facilitate her to take care of herself and her children.”
“No alimony as the women are “working””.
“Economist don’t count the job done for one’s own self or at home as a part of GDP. Check your GK, this is the hard truth.”
“When she isn’t working, due to sickness or something else, who is replacing her? Her husband? In-laws? How will their remuneration decided?”.
“Money from the government comes from taxes. Why should I be taxed to pay a housewife for her work in her own home?”
“Pay back by loving them.”

Final Thoughts

Education and employment opportunities can boost women employment. But who is to say that these two components successfully ensure independence? In a country like India where it is a daughter-in-law’s duty to serve her in-laws, maybe the definition of independence needs to be revisited.

There is a bright side and dark side to rewarding homemakers with a fixed stipend. With access to money of her own, women are not answerable to anyone what they do with it. She could start a small business, invest, save, spend and not be dependent at least for that freedom on the earning member of the family. On the other hand, factors like domestic abuse, mental torture and societal norms could prevent successful implementation of this initiative.

According to an article by The Wire, The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2019 reports that a majority (30.9%) of all the 4.05 lakh cases under crimes against women are registered under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The section deals with ‘cruelty by husband or his relatives’. Even though it is common knowledge that domestic violence is a punishable offense, it is the most under reported crime in India.

I have seen people go “color me surprised” when they hear of couples sharing the house work like cleaning, cooking and basic chores that they would very well do if they were living by themselves. Why are people surprised? Is it because it is another “western influence contaminating our values?” or is because this practice of equal responsibility has been long overdue?

Until homemakers are given equal respect, appreciation and freedom to dream beyond four walls of the house and duty, an initiative like this, if well planned out, could work wonders for women. But there are numerous factors right from social class, traditional values to male inferiority complex and the repercussions to be considered. There are societal and financial aspects that need to be taken into account. A promise is good but how promising is it in the long run?