Economy

What unpaid labor represents to the Brazilian economy

In other Latin American countries, unpaid labor makes up around one-fifth of GDP. But Brazil doesn't even calculate domestic and care work

What unpaid labor represents to the Brazilian economy
Photo: Sergey Mironov/Shutterstock

Since March, when governments around Latin America started to enact lockdowns and other social isolation measures, several sectors of the economy either slowed down or were brought to a standstill. One, however, was unaffected: unpaid labor, largely comprising care work and homemaking. 

In Brazil, these activities — predominantly carried out by women — are not factored into the calculation of the country’s GDP. But despite lying invisible, this area is an important element of the economy — in some countries, it represents up to one-fifth of GDP.

“Our societies organize the production of goods and services based on the relationship between capital and labor, but the labor force does not come out of nowhere. Unpaid domestic work plays an essential role in producing and reproducing the labor force every day,” explains Corina Rodríguez Enríquez, an economist and social science Ph.D. teaching Economics and Gender at the University of Buenos Aires.

“If this work — done by more women than men — did not exist, there would not be a labor force able to participate in the market. Without a workforce, capital cannot produce anything, hence the argument that this work is essential to the functioning of the economic system,” she adds.

Invisible women

Homemaking and domestic chores in Brazil are...

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