1Arifa Sultana Chowdhury 2Nithin Rajeev
1,2Assistant Professor, School of Law, Dayananda Sagar University, Bangalore, India.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/jsae/v2n2/v2n208
[Article History: Received: 29 July 2025. Accepted: 24 October 2025. Published: 30 October 2025]
Abstract
This article analyses the invisibility and undervaluation of women’s unpaid and caring labor within India’s economic and legal frameworks. Employing a feminist doctrinal and analytical framework, it examines the perpetuation of gendered labor divides and the exacerbation of structural inequalities by patriarchal behaviours and neoliberal policies. Utilising feminist economic theory, national surveys, and legal research, the study demonstrates that unpaid care work, essential for economic production, is consistently excluded from national accounting and policy development. The research argues that care must be redefined as a shared social responsibility and a communal resource. It finds that recognizing, reducing, and redistributing unpaid work through targeted policy measures is crucial for achieving gender equality and promoting inclusive, sustainable development in India.
Keywords: Unpaid Labour, Economy, India, feminism, gender equality, policy development.
