Women's workload and its impact on their health and nutritional status

Abstract

This paper highlights various issues in relation to the workload of women in developing countries and its impact on health and nutritional status. The determining factors in women's workload and work-time and the methods employed for assessment are described. The drawbacks of the methods used and the resulting inconsistencies in the data are reviewed. How women are subjected to different health stresses owing to their productive and reproductive roles has been examined under three categories of work: economic, domestic and agricultural. The interaction of women's workload and health is complex and multifactorial owing to variations in the environment and socio-economic conditions within developing countries. There is a critical need to re-examine the assumptions existing about women's workload in programmes aimed at reducing work-time and workload of women in developing countries.

PIP: The methodology of a variety of studies assessing the impact of women;s workload on their health and nutrition is critically reviewed. The following aspects of women's work have been assessed: 1) energy cost and duration of activities of women combined with energy expenditure and energy intake, 2) energy cost of activities and energy expenditure and 3) duration of activities. Women are subjected to different health stresses from economic, domestic, and agricultural work. Energy expenditure or the metabolic rate of resting and the duration of activities often has been measured by indirect calorimetry using either Douglas Bag or Kofirany Michaelis respirometer or Max-Planck respirometer. Measurement methods of energy intake have varied vis-a-vis female farmers, carpet weavers, or pregnant and lactating mothers. Data collection on food and energy intake occurred via 1) weighing and recording food intake in surveys and 2) food intake by the 24-hour recall questionnaire method. In parts of East Africa, women work 16 hours a day. In a Tanzanian village, women work 11 hours during the nonfarming season and almost 14 hours during the farming season. Women contribute more than 40% of agricultural labor in 52 developing countries and more than 50% in 24 of them. In Gambia, the energy intake of pregnant and lactating women varied from 1250 kcal/day to 1489 kcal/day in the wet season to 1680 kcal/day during the dry season. The energy intake of pregnant female farmers in rural Tanzania was markedly less than their energy expenditure. Low energy intakes among female farmers which led to weight loss were observed during the rainy season of heavy agricultural work. In Kenya, 709% of all trips for water collection are made by females over 15 years old as compared to 25% by males in the corresponding age group. On a global basis, 42% of the female population over age 15 is in the labor force, and these women comprise more than a third of the total labor force. It is crucial to re-examine the assumptions about women's workload in programs that seek to reduce the work-time and workload of women in developing countries.