Unpaid but priceless: How Kenya can elevate domestic work to boost growth

Women spend an average of four hours and 38 minutes daily on unpaid care and domestic work, compared to just over 1 hour for men, according to 2021 Kenya Time Use Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. This imbalance robs women of opportunities for formal employment, personal development, and leisure, perpetuating a cycle of gender-based economic disparity. 

The unequal distribution of unpaid care work restricts women’s potential for financial independence and limits Kenya’s economic growth.

As the world prepares to mark the International Day of Care and Support on October 29, it is crucial to address an often-overlooked aspect of our economy: unpaid care work. Unpaid care work — ranging from childcare, elder care, cooking, cleaning, to managing households — remains an invisible yet critical pillar of our society. In Kenya, care work disproportionately falls on women and girls, reinforcing gender inequalities and limiting women's full participation in economic and public life.

Care work is indispensable to the functioning of our economy, yet it remains invisible in GDP calculations and undervalued in national policies. This is despite care work's substantial contributions, which, if quantified, would constitute a significant share of Kenya's overall economy. If Kenya is to achieve its ambitious goals for gender equality and economic development, the country must re-evaluate how it recognises, reduces, and redistributes care responsibilities.

What the data tells us

Unpaid care work not only limits women’s economic participation but also amplifies the gendered impacts of poverty. 

According to the 2022 National Care Needs Assessment women, especially in rural areas, lack access to basic services such as clean water, electricity, and affordable childcare. This forces them to spend more time on care work, effectively keeping them out of paid employment and educational opportunities.

Kenya is not alone in this crisis. Globally, women do 2.6 times more unpaid care work than men. In Kenya, women perform a staggering 4.6 times more care work than men. If we were to translate the time spent by women on unpaid care work into full-time workdays, the contribution of Kenyan women would be the equivalent of 196 full-time workdays per year compared to just 46 for men. This invisible labour sustains households, businesses, and the broader economy, but remains unvalued.

Even more concerning is the fact that the demand for care services is projected to rise dramatically in the coming decades because of Kenya’s aging population. The number of elderly citizens requiring care is expected to grow exponentially after 2025, compounding the childcare crisis that Kenya already faces. Without adequate public investment in care infrastructure, Kenya will face an unsustainable care burden that threatens to stifle economic growth.

What Kenya is doing about it

The Government of Kenya has begun to take steps to address the care crisis. The State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, with financial support from UN Women, is currently leading efforts to finalise the development of the Kenya National Care Policy, making Kenya the second country in Africa to have such an elaborate policy after Cote d’Ivoire. It also receives technical support from the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), OXFAM, Collaborative Action for Childcare, and other credible institutions in the Women’s Economic Empowerment Community of Practice (WEE CoP). 

The policy aims to ensure that unpaid care work is valued, recognised and integrated into the national accounting systems and economic policies. It also seeks to  reduce the time burden of unpaid care work through investments in care-supportive services and infrastructure; redistribute care work more equitably between men and women, and between families and the state; reward care work with decent wages and work conditions; and ensure representation of care workers and providers in policy and decision making spaces within the public and private sectors. 

Through this policy, the government also seeks to enhance public investments in care services such as childcare centres, which have been shown to increase women’s participation in the workforce. A study conducted by the Africa Population and Helath Research Centre  in informal settlements in Nairobi revealed that subsidised childcare increased women’s employment by 17 per cent, helping to close the labour force participation gap between men and women. 

Despite these policy advancements, Kenya still faces significant challenges. Many women, particularly in rural areas, lack access to affordable and quality childcare, elder care, or even basic household infrastructure like running water and electricity. This forces them to dedicate even more time to care work, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and gender inequality. They are also exposed to mental breakdowns without much support in mental wellness. 

Moreover, entrenched gender norms continue to perpetuate the idea that care work is the sole responsibility of women. According to the Kenya Time Use Survey, women in counties like Marsabit spend as much as seven hours daily on unpaid care work — double the national average (KNBS,2021). This underlines the urgent need to roll out the policy across counties, particularly in underserved areas.

There is need for urgent action to finalise and enact and implement the Kenya’s National Care Policy. The government, civil society, and private sector must work together to accelerate the socialisation and finalisation of the policy. This will require collaboration across sectors to ensure that care services are accessible, affordable, and high-quality. County governments should be empowered to deliver care services tailored to the needs of their populations, especially in underserved rural areas.

Moreover, a shift in gender norms around care work can be delivered through public campaigns and community-based initiatives that challenge entrenched gender norms. Men and boys need to be encouraged and supported to take on more care responsibilities, as co-responsibility is critical for achieving gender equality.

The government must prioritize investment in services like childcare, elder care, and healthcare infrastructure, which are essential for reducing the care burden on women and girls. This investment will not only benefit women but also contribute to Kenya’s overall economic growth by increasing labour force participation and productivity.

Paid and unpaid care workers deserve recognition and fair compensation. The government should establish a legal framework to protect the rights of care workers, including domestic workers, and ensure they receive decent wages and social protections. 
Care work is real work and should be professionalised. Finally, the government should continue to collect and use time-use data to inform care policies at both national and county levels. The 2021 Kenya Time Use Survey offers a critical foundation for understanding how care work is distributed and should guide future interventions.

Kenya stands at a critical juncture. As the population in need of care services continues to rise, the failure to adequately address the care crisis could have far-reaching consequences for economic development, social equity, and gender equality. Investing in care work is not just a moral imperative — it is an economic one. The care economy, if properly supported, has the potential to generate millions of jobs, boost GDP, and unlock the full potential of Kenyan women.

Unpaid care work is not a private issue — it is a public good that benefits us all. It is time for Kenya to recognize, reduce, and redistribute care work, and in doing so, create a more just, equitable, and prosperous future for everyone.