Valuing the Invisible: Locating Domestic Labor in Indian Legal Discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT Unpaid domestic labor, primarily performed by women, remains largely invisible and undervalued despite its critical contribution to social and economic well‐being. Drawing from the disproportionate burden of household work on women, this paper examines the growing recognition of unpaid domestic labor within the Indian legal and economic discourse, particularly in cases related to compensation and property division. Drawing on feminist economic theory and time‐use surveys as frameworks, the study performs a qualitative analysis of purposively selected legal verdicts to examine how they signal a shift toward acknowledging the economic contributions of homemakers while traditional economic metrics marginalized unpaid labor, perpetuating structural gender inequalities. This article positions the implications of the process of monetization of unpaid domestic labor along with examining the ethical concerns surrounding the monetization of intimate familial labor, which presents complex challenges. Findings indicate a growing judicial trend, moving from assigning “notional income” in compensation cases toward more explicit recognition of unpaid domestic labor's economic value. This paper argues that evolving legal discourse provides a crucial foundation for recognizing and valuing unpaid domestic labor, and is essential not only for advancing gender equity but also for reconfiguring policies on economic and legal frameworks.