Women spend more time on unpaid work than men, KNBS report shows

At the county level, the burden of work is highest for women in Marsabit (30.2 per cent) followed by Wajir (26.8 per cent), Samburu (24.2 per cent), Mandera (23.8 per cent), and Garissa (23.7 per cent).

"Regardless of their work status, women spend more time on unpaid work than men. Nationally, individuals who are not working spend more time on the said activities (16.4 per cent) compared to those who are working (10.5 per cent) on a daily basis. Working women spend on average four hours per day on unpaid work, whereas, working men spend about an hour."

KNBS Director General Macdonald Obudho calls for the development of an unpaid care and domestic work policy which will provide a legal framework to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work.

"This would also help to establish family-friendly working arrangements for all workers, regulate and implement decent terms and conditions of employment, and help achieve
equal pay for work of equal value for all care workers," said Obudho.

On his part, State Department for Economic Planning Principal Secretary James Muhati said; ""This data will help to recognize and even value unpaid care and domestic work in economic terms."