Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Deputy Speaker of the MPR RI, Lestari\nMoerdijat, stated that the domestic workload and caregiving\nresponsibilities undertaken by women must be considered in the\nformulation of economic policies.<\/p>\n
According to her, as long as domestic work and caregiving are\nregarded solely as women\u2019s private matters, structural injustice will\ncontinue to recur. \u201cCare work supports families, the workforce, and the\neconomy, and therefore must be accounted for in policy formulation,\u201d\nsaid Rerie (her affectionate nickname) in a statement received in\nJakarta on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
This statement was made by Lestress Moerdijat in response to research\nby Populix titled \u201cFurther Study on the Wage Gap: The Burden of\nCaregiving and Domestic Work Escaping Economic Calculation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The research notes that women in urban households allocate 252 more\nhours to domestic work per year compared to men. This difference is\nequivalent to approximately 31 working days, assuming an eight-hour\nworkday.<\/p>\n
Based on an online survey of 1,000 urban households in March-April\n2026, women spend an average of three hours and 14 minutes per day on\ndomestic work, which is about 27 per cent longer than men.<\/p>\n
In addition to time, women were also recorded to have a higher\ndecision-making and mental burden. The score for women\u2019s decision and\nmental burden reached 59.7 out of 100, while men\u2019s was 48.5.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, 71.7 per cent of women were recorded to manage at least\n60 per cent of daily household decisions, ranging from managing\nchildren\u2019s needs and shopping to ensuring various household obligations\nare met.<\/p>\n
Rerie stated that these findings show that the issues faced by women\nare not merely related to capacity, but also to social structures and\nthe division of roles. \u201cMany women must face a double burden. They are\nrequired to be productive in the workplace, but at the same time, they\ncontinue to bear the majority of domestic and caregiving\nresponsibilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in May\n2026 recorded the average wage for male labourers at Rp3.69 million per\nmonth, while for women it was Rp2.86 million. Thus, there is a\ndifference of approximately Rp830,000, or 22 per cent.<\/p>\n
According to her, this gap should serve as a basis for evaluating\nvarious structural barriers facing women, such as gender-based job\nsegregation, limited career development opportunities, and the heavy\nburden of caregiving responsibilities.<\/p>\n
To address these issues, Rerie urged the government to strengthen\nnational data regarding time use and to develop an economic satellite\naccount for care work to measure the contribution of unpaid domestic and\ncaregiving labour.<\/p>\n
She also called for expanded access to quality and affordable\nchildcare and care services, as well as the effective implementation of\nmaternity leave and paternity leave so that caregiving responsibilities\ncan be shared more fairly.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Rerie encouraged stronger supervision of wage practices\nthrough payroll system transparency, objective job evaluations, and the\nenforcement of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.<\/p>\n
\u201cCare work must not continue to be invisible work burdened upon\nwomen. The state, the business world, political parties, and society\nmust work together to build an ecosystem that allows women to thrive\nequally,\u201d she said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mpr-womens-domestic-workload-must-be-taken-into-account-1790161243", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }