Society

The Unpaid Work That Keeps Pakistani Families Running

My wife is over sixty, but her responsibilities at home have not diminished. Her daily routine has made me think differently about the unpaid work on which Pakistani families depend.

A Working Day That Begins at Four

My wife wakes up at four in the morning. She offers her prayers and goes for a walk. When she returns, she prepares breakfast for the family.

Our son and daughter-in-law both work. After they leave for their offices, my wife looks after our young granddaughter until her mother returns around four in the afternoon.

We employ a maid who takes care of washing and sweeping. My wife cooks and often helps with other household tasks. She is particular about how things are done and likes to maintain her own standards. She never complains.

I spent much of my professional life in banking. My working hours were recorded, my salary arrived in my account, and my employment was governed by rules concerning leave and retirement. My wife’s contribution has never been recorded in that way.

She is over sixty, an age when many people have retired from formal employment. Yet her daily routine remains closely connected to the working lives of the younger members of our family. When our son and daughter-in-law leave for work, they know their daughter is in safe, familiar hands.

I had long regarded this arrangement as an ordinary part of family life. Recently, however, I began thinking about what it tells us about the economic contribution of women who work at home.

The Dinner She Prepares Before Going Out

There is another habit of my wife’s that I find revealing.

When she visits relatives or friends, she will often prepare dinner before leaving. Later, she sends a message telling us where she has kept the food.

Even when she is away, she remembers what the family will need. She takes pride in managing things properly, and I have begun to notice how much planning lies behind these ordinary arrangements.

Cooking is the visible part. Someone must also remember what ingredients are available, what needs to be prepared and when family members are likely to return. Researchers sometimes describe this responsibility as the mental load of household management.

It is not always physically demanding, but it occupies attention. A person can be visiting friends while still remembering whether dinner has been arranged.

In our household, my wife carries much of that responsibility. We are free to forget certain things because she remembers them.

The Work Pakistan Rarely Counts

Pakistan’s Labour Force Survey 2024–25 provides evidence of how widespread unpaid domestic and care work is. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 117.4 million people in the survey’s population covered participated in unpaid domestic and care activities: 66.7 million women and 50.7 million men.

Participation alone does not tell the entire story. The survey’s activity-specific tables indicate marked differences in the share of women and men who cook, clean or provide care, as well as in the hours devoted to those activities.

Unpaid domestic services are generally excluded from conventional GDP calculations, although unpaid work producing goods or contributing to a market-oriented family business can be treated differently. The exclusion of household services from GDP does not mean that the work lacks value.

Our household is one example of the larger pattern. It is not representative of every family, but it illustrates how care can support paid employment without itself producing a wage.

How Grandparents Support Working Families

Our granddaughter spends much of the working day with her grandmother. The child receives affection and attention from a family member who knows her well.

There is also a practical economic consequence: both her parents can continue working.

If my wife were unavailable, they would have to arrange childcare differently. Depending on the options available, that could involve paying a caregiver, changing working hours or reducing one parent’s employment.

Not every family has grandparents who are willing or able to provide regular childcare. Some older people have health limitations. Others live far away or prefer to spend retirement differently. Families should respect those choices.

In our case, my wife has taken on the responsibility willingly, as far as she has expressed it to me. I do not wish to turn her affection for our granddaughter into a story of exploitation. But willingness does not erase economic value.

Pakistan’s discussions about women’s employment often concentrate on education and skills. These matter, but dependable childcare also affects whether women can remain in paid work after becoming mothers. When formal childcare is unavailable or unaffordable, the family becomes the childcare system. Frequently, that means another woman assumes the responsibility.

When Caregiving Affects Financial Independence

My wife’s experience makes me think about women who leave paid employment to raise children or care for relatives. Their circumstances can be very different from hers.

A woman who gives up a job may lose years of income and opportunities for promotion. Returning after a long break can be difficult.

Consider a hypothetical worker earning Rs 60,000 a month. Five years outside paid employment would mean Rs 3.6 million in forgone gross wages if the salary had otherwise remained unchanged. This illustration excludes childcare expenses, taxes, salary increases and other factors; it is not an estimate of a typical Pakistani woman’s loss.

The consequences can extend into old age. Someone who spends much of adult life outside formal employment may accumulate little independent retirement savings. Access to a pension or survivor benefit depends on the relevant scheme and eligibility conditions.

As I discussed in The Hidden Financial Crisis Facing Pakistan’s Retired Middle Class, retirement security is not distributed equally. Years of household care do not automatically create pension contributions in the caregiver’s name.

Some women choose domestic responsibilities and find considerable satisfaction in them. The question is whether those choices are supported by adequate financial security and whether women who want paid employment have a realistic opportunity to pursue it.

What Pakistan Could Change

The debate about unpaid care has reached Pakistan’s Parliament. In July 2026, the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Gender Mainstreaming discussed the care economy and barriers to women’s participation in formal employment. Its agenda included statistical definitions, daycare facilities and policy development.

Pakistan already has labour survey data that can help identify where domestic and care responsibilities fall most heavily. Continued collection of comparable time-use information would help track changes.

Daycare facilities near workplaces could help parents who lack reliable family support. Employers could consider flexible schedules where the nature of work permits them. Care for older people deserves attention too.

None of this means grandparents should stop helping their families. It means childcare and eldercare should not depend entirely on the assumption that an older woman will always be available.

Within households, family members can share the planning behind daily tasks instead of waiting for one person to remind them. That begins with recognising work that someone else has been doing.

The Message About Dinner

I return to the message my wife sends when she is away visiting relatives or friends. Dinner is ready. She tells us where to find it.

For years, I would have read such a message without thinking much about it. Now I see something else in those few words.

She has remembered our needs while attending to her own plans. She has arranged the meal before anyone asked about it. Her care for the family is genuine. So is the work involved.

I cannot claim that my wife’s experience represents the lives of millions of Pakistani women. Many face financial pressures and household circumstances very different from ours. But her routine has made me more attentive to a contribution that is easy to overlook precisely because it is so dependable.

Perhaps appreciation should begin with a simple change in behaviour. The next time she goes out, the rest of us could take responsibility for dinner.

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