Ghanaian mothers carry out a significant 76% of all unpaid care work, yet these efforts remain uncounted in official economic measurements. This disparity highlights a crucial, unrecognised contribution to sustaining households and national productivity.
Women in Ghana spend an average of 6.4 hours daily on unpaid care and domestic duties. Men, in contrast, dedicate only 1.7 hours to such tasks, according to the 2020 Ghana Time Use Survey by the Ghana Statistical Service. This imbalance means women often balance these duties with rising living costs, unstable incomes, and economic uncertainty.
This extensive unpaid labour forms a vital but invisible economic sector. It provides an effective subsidy to the broader economy by reducing the costs of social reproduction for both governments and employers. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) notes that 708 million women worldwide are outside the labour force due to care responsibilities. This is a stark contrast to 40 million men in similar circumstances.
The ILO describes care responsibilities as a major barrier preventing women from entering, remaining, and progressing in paid employment. The organisation warned in a 2024 report that societal expectations around caregiving deepen economic inequality. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous stated that if valued at minimum wage, global unpaid care and domestic work would equal close to 9% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This amounts to approximately $10.8 trillion annually.
This persistent gender imbalance has significant implications for Ghana's economic development and gender equality targets. Recognising and valuing this labour could reshape policy discussions on social welfare, employment, and poverty reduction. Decision-makers increasingly face pressure to develop policies that acknowledge and support this foundational work. Businesses and markets will also need to adapt to changing workforce dynamics as awareness of this imbalance grows. Attention will now shift to how Ghana measures and incorporates this vital economic contribution into national accounts.