Work and Care in Eastern and Southern Africa: Surviving Through the Fractured Family

This chapter examines the intersections of paid and unpaid work in Eastern and Southern Africa, highlighting their role in reproducing gendered inequalities. While gender disparities in labour are a global phenomenon, women in Africa face layered challenges rooted in colonial histories, fractured family structures, and limited care infrastructure. The chapter explores how women’s economic contributions straddle paid, informal, and unpaid domains, revealing how social reproduction sustains both households and broader economies. The analysis traces how colonial migrant labour systems outsourced care to rural households, disproportionately burdening women and entrenching the devaluation of reproductive labour. Contemporary evidence on labour force participation, unemployment, agricultural work, and time-use data demonstrates that African women work longer overall than men, yet much of their effort remains unpaid and undervalued. These dynamics situate women simultaneously as vital economic actors and as subjects of systemic exclusion. The chapter argues that policies focused narrowly on labour market reform or wage equality are insufficient to address persistent gender gaps, as much of women’s work lies outside the formal productive economy. Instead, more robust state intervention in social provisioning and care infrastructure is necessary to alleviate unsustainable burdens on households. By linking historical legacies with present-day realities, the chapter underscores how the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work continues to shape livelihoods and limit gender equality in the region.