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Caste and Care Work: Reviewing Time-use Surveys through an Intersectional Lens

Daigy Varghese & Boddu Srujana

Economic and Political Weekly2026https://doi.org/10.71279/epw.v61i02.43648article
ABDC B
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0.50

Abstract

Care work is often categorised as a gendered issue, overlooking the intricate role of caste and its hierarchies. Care work is frequently framed as a gendered issue, yet its distribution and recognition are profoundly influenced by caste hierarchies. Existing dominant methodologies, such as Time-Use Surveys, fail to capture the caste-based stratification of care work, particularly the unpaid and underpaid labour carried out by lower-caste women. These surveys rely on rigid classifications that obscure the blurred boundaries between labour and care for marginalised women, thereby reinforcing epistemic gaps in policy discourse. This paper advocates for a caste-sensitive approach to time-use research, integrating qualitative methods like participatory time-use studies and caste-disaggregated data. By challenging the universalisation of gendered experiences in care work, this paper engages with ethnographic research on motherhood and caregiving of subaltern women. Understanding care as relational, interdependent and mutually reciprocative, we highlight the redefinitions of motherhood when mothers care within constraints and underscores the need for structural policy interventions that recognise and address caste-based inequalities in caregiving. And also stresses theon need forAn an intersectional framework is essential to ensure that the burdens of marginalised women are acknowledged and addressed in academic research and policies.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.71279/epw.v61i02.43648

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@article{daigy2026,
  title        = {{Caste and Care Work: Reviewing Time-use Surveys through an Intersectional Lens}},
  author       = {Daigy Varghese & Boddu Srujana},
  journal      = {Economic and Political Weekly},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.71279/epw.v61i02.43648},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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