Across Nigeria, millions of women wake up before dawn to begin their daily labour—cooking, cleaning, childcare, and elderly care. This invisible workforce forms the backbone of our society, yet their contributions remain largely unrecognized and uncompensated.
The Invisible Economy Supporting Nigeria
Care work encompasses all the unpaid domestic tasks that keep households functioning and economies moving. In Nigerian communities, women typically bear the brunt of this work, spending countless hours on activities that, while essential, don't appear in any economic statistics.
The reality is stark: Nigerian women spend significantly more time on unpaid care work than men, limiting their opportunities for education, formal employment, and economic advancement.
The Economic Impact of Unrecognized Labour
When care work remains invisible in economic calculations, it creates a distorted picture of national productivity. The countless hours women spend nurturing families and maintaining households contribute substantially to human capital development and social stability.
Consider this: If care work were assigned monetary value, it would constitute a significant portion of Nigeria's GDP. Yet women performing these essential tasks lack social protection, pensions, and recognition for their contributions.
Pathways to Recognition and Justice
Transforming how we view and value care work requires concerted effort across multiple sectors:
- Policy Reform: Integrating care work into national economic accounts and labour statistics
- Social Protection: Extending benefits and pensions to those engaged primarily in care work
- Infrastructure Development: Investing in public services that reduce the burden of care work
- Gender Equality: Promoting shared responsibility for domestic work within households
A Call for Collective Action
Recognizing care work as legitimate labour isn't just about fairness—it's about building a more equitable and sustainable Nigeria. When women's contributions are valued and supported, entire communities thrive.
The movement to recognize care work represents a crucial step toward gender justice and economic transformation in Nigeria. By acknowledging this essential labour, we take an important step toward building a society where every contribution is valued and every worker is respected.
