Unacknowledged Treasures: The Home-based Women Labor of Pakistan [pdf]

A recent publication by Roots for Equity on Home-Based Women Labor in Pakistan.

Globalization has greatly intensified inequities for the poor, markedly felt by the most vulnerable marginalized groups in society, especially women. Neoliberal policies since the 1970s have led to deregulation and privatization of the economic system and have promoted the broadening of the informal sector labor economy with various forms of underpaid and insecure work expanding such as contractual, temporary as well as piece rate work. Piece rate work is carried out at home, in squatter settlement neighborhoods as well as in the rural areas. Although men are also part of this labor force, it is believed that a vast majority of home-based work is carried out by women; this particular labor sector is now often labeled as homebased
workers (HBWs).

The global phenomenon of increase in the number of home-based workers, as well as intensification of the quantity and category of work in this sector has also been felt in the Pakistan’s informal labor sector. It is well understood, that Pakistan has some of the worst social, legal, political and economic indicators when it comes to providing better opportunities to women in society. It is also a fact that neoliberal policies have played a major role in increasing inflation in the country such that the cost of living has increased at least by 21 percent in the past few years.

With daunting rise in poverty in the past decade, these factors would tend to exacerbate the socio-economic conditions of women in the informal sector. However, no data, especially government statistics are available in this context. Various documents related to the socio-economic conditions of home-based women
workers (HBWWs) provide statistics on the number of HBWWs in Pakistan; however, no concrete national research has been conducted on the enumeration of HBWWs, nor their labor conditions. This research fills that gap.