Of working men, working women and homemakers

Of working men, working women and homemakers ....

The 1st of May is celebrated every year as the International Workers' Day or Labour Day  by the labourers and the working classes to demonstrate the legal establishment of the 8-hour working day. This was the fallout of the trying conditions and long hours of work after the industrial revolution leading to a life devoid of dignity for labourers. The Labour Day gave the benchmark for limiting hours of work and today the official hours of work are defined specifically.
My curiosity made me explore the definition of work. To my surprise I found most of the dictionaries defined work as something one does to earn money. This meant that monetary remuneration was the sole criterion to define work.
Homemakers are a very important part of our society and family and they spend more than 12 hours a day working at home. Their "work" is neither quantified nor recognised. In fact their work is belittled at times by apologetic family members saying that she does nothing and is just at home. On the contrary working moms are held in high regard.
Homemakers often end up in not recognising their worth due to this predicament. They become victims of discontentment and remain dissatisfied forgetting the fact that their contribution in managing the homes is the most important factor for the success of every other “working” member of the family. If the hours of work contributed by the homemaker in doing all the daily chores like cooking, cleaning, teaching children, washing, buying groceries etc are calculated the family might end up in spending quite a lot on their services.
The social fabric of our society has been woven in such a manner that on the one hand the hearth is considered to be the woman's place and the man is considered to be the bread-winner. In fact in families where both husband and wife work, higher income or status of the man is a major concern. A woman earning more than her husband or holding a higher position makes the husband appear hen-pecked. Ridiculing such men using the wife's name is common. As a result even in this day and age the status of the spouses of working men and working women are different.
Another important aspect is the work- life balance of the working women. Despite having equal or long hours of work, working women also have to attend to domestic work including cooking, cleaning, washing, taking care of children. A very miniscule percentage of men are sympathetic towards their working wife and support them at home. It is common place for us to see men relishing a cup of tea catching up with news in the morning newspapers while the wife struggles to get things ready. This is the norm in any average middle class home. So working women become burdened with the task of being  super women. They also get saddled with guilt in case they are unable to be with their children due to work compulsions. The average male gets away with his absence without guilt.
Yardsticks to measure the work of working men, working women and homemakers are totally different.
Differences in the wage rate for men and women workers still exist except in n government schemes like MGNREGS. Also differences still exist in the type of works allocated to men and women. Till date work done by homemakers are not measured or quantified for fear of upsetting the social apple cart.
It is also a fact that the percentage of working women against men is also dwindling due allocation of particular kinds of work to women. A casual visit to the village will reveal that almost 80 percent of the agricultural activities are done by women yet women are rarely considered as farmers and also paid lesser. The government has several schemes for the empowerment of women. In programmes like the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, emphasis is on strengthening the households. This might facilitate in bringing about a change in the mind-set and giving women appropriate status as individuals whether working or not.
In an urban context also there is a dearth of women CEOs, women technicians, women film directors, women politicians etc. Career advancement and financial success are corollaries of self-esteem for men whereas women have to sacrifice their success for the sake of family or for other reasons. The struggle for gender equality still continues as also of respecting her dignity.
Occasions like the International Labour Day should be used for discussing and highlighting such complex subjects. Our stance and outlook towards working men, working women and homemakers have therefore to be seen in a manner which will bring about real social transformation. The fruits of our labour would be sweet only then.