Responsiveness of women’s unpaid work to family demographics in tribal and non-tribal areas of India

Abstract

Across the globe, women are mostly in charge of working in the fields, providing unpaid care, which includes housekeeping and providing care for others in their homes and communities without receiving any specific financial compensation. The present study is aimed at assessing the significance, nature and size of the responsiveness of women’s unpaid work to the various demographic characteristics of families in the tribal and non-tribal areas of India. The impacts of different variables on SNA, ESNA, NSNA, and overall unpaid work of tribal and nontribal women were separately investigated. The Multiple Linear Regression Model was applied using the Microsoft Office Excel Analysis ToolPak. The findings suggest that women are engaged in SNA activities regardless of the family’s demographic structure in both tribal and non-tribal areas. However, the participation of non-tribal women in ESNA activities is more complex and requires further study compared to tribal women. The involvement of tribal and non-tribal women in NSNA activities is influenced by factors beyond demographic variables (except age), such as psychological, social, and cultural factors. In case of the overall unpaid work burden, the impact of the same factors (except for the number of family members) on unpaid work differs between tribal and non-tribal women. However, education demonstrates a strong positive and significant impact on reducing unpaid work burden across both groups.