The Impact of Family Responsibilities on Increasing Inequality Among Women in Our Society : A brief analysis of the context of Indian law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37591/jhrlp.v9i2.2172Keywords:
gender inequality; family responsibilities; unpaid care work; women’s labour; domestic labour; patriarchy; intersectionality; IndiaAbstract
Gender inequality remains one of the most persistent social and developmental challenges across contemporary societies. While women’s access to education, legal rights, and public institutions has improved significantly over the last few decades, inequalities rooted in domestic and family structures continue to shape women’s everyday lives. Among these, family responsibilities remain a central mechanism through which social, economic, and political inequalities are reproduced. The unequal distribution of domestic labour, childcare, eldercare, and emotional caregiving disproportionately places women in unpaid and undervalued roles within households, thereby constraining their opportunities in the public sphere. This article critically examines how family responsibilities contribute to increasing inequality among women in society through a gendered analysis of labour division, economic dependence, educational restrictions, political participation, and social well-being. Drawing on feminist political economy and contemporary empirical research, the article argues that family responsibilities function as a structural barrier to women’s substantive equality. The persistent concentration of unpaid care work among women creates time poverty, weakens labour-force participation, reduces financial autonomy, and limits women’s participation in leadership and decision-making institutions. The article further highlights that the burden of family responsibility is shaped by intersectional factors such as class, caste, and rural–urban location, making inequality more severe for women from marginalized communities. Evidence from recent studies in India demonstrates that women continue to spend significantly more time than men on unpaid household and care work, reflecting deeply rooted patriarchal norms and institutional limitations. The article concludes that addressing women’s inequality requires recognizing unpaid care work as a fundamental social and economic issue. Meaningful gender justice depends on redistributing family responsibilities, strengthening care infrastructure, and transforming cultural attitudes regarding women’s domestic roles. Without structural intervention at household and policy levels, women’s equality remains incomplete.
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