Over 84% of Cabo Verde's population engaged in unpaid work in 2025, women bear the brunt
In 2025, a significant 84.8% of Cabo Verde's population aged 15 and over, totaling 317,916 individuals, participated in some form of unpaid work. This category encompasses activities like self-consumption production, volunteer work, care for dependents, and domestic chores, which are often overlooked but vital for household, community, and economic functioning. The data, calibrated against demographic projections, reveals a substantial gender disparity, with 93.0% of women performing unpaid labor compared to 76.7% of men, a difference of 16.3 percentage points. On average, individuals spent 15.2 hours weekly on these tasks, but women dedicated 19.1 hours, significantly more than the 10.3 hours spent by men.
Production for self-consumption involved 14.9% of the population, with men slightly more engaged (15.1%) than women (14.7%). This activity was more prevalent in rural areas (35.1%) and among households with lower comfort levels (36.7%). Notably, women heading households with low comfort levels showed a higher rate of self-consumption production (42.3%) than men-headed households (29.7%). Volunteer work engaged 3.5% of individuals, with slightly higher participation from women (3.8%) than men (3.1%), and was most common in urban areas. Domestic chores were performed by 80.9% of the population, with women (91.6%) undertaking significantly more than men (70.2%), averaging 11.4 hours weekly versus 6.5 hours for men. Caregiving for dependents within the household involved 33.9% of people, with women (45.6%) providing more care than men (22.2%), dedicating 12.2 hours weekly compared to 8.5 hours for men. Care for dependents outside the household affected 6.6% of the population, again with higher involvement from women (8.5%) than men (4.7%), and women spent more time on these tasks (10.2 hours weekly) than men (6.9 hours).
This data highlights the substantial, often invisible, economic contribution of unpaid labor in Cabo Verde, with a clear gendered distribution. The findings underscore how societal structures and potentially ingrained gender roles result in women disproportionately bearing the responsibility for domestic chores and caregiving, even while participating in other forms of unpaid work. While men dedicate more hours to production for self-consumption and care for dependents outside the household, the sheer volume of domestic and internal caregiving tasks falls heavily on women, impacting their time availability for paid employment, education, or leisure. Future policy considerations could explore mechanisms to recognize and redistribute unpaid care work, potentially through social support systems or incentives that encourage more equitable sharing within households, thereby fostering greater gender equality and economic participation.
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