Kenyan women shoulder Sh1.89 trillion in unpaid domestic work, says KNBS

Women in Kenya are carrying an economic burden worth Sh1.89 trillion a year through unpaid domestic and care work such as cooking, cleaning, caring for children and managing household chores.

According to the latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report, each Kenyan woman’s unpaid work is valued at Sh118,845 per year.

The inaugural Economic Value of Unpaid Domestic and Care Work in Kenya 2025 study reveals a stark gender gap in unpaid labour, showing women’s contribution far outweighs that of men.

Each Kenyan man performs unpaid work valued at Sh22,676 per year, putting men’s total contribution to unpaid domestic and care work (UDCW) at Sh353.89 billion. Women’s unpaid labour, therefore, represents more than five times the collective Sh2.423 trillion annual UDCW, highlighting the disproportionate burden of care and domestic responsibilities borne by women across the country.

“This marks the first time Kenya has quantified the economic value of unpaid household and care work. On average, if UDCW activities had been remunerated, each woman aged 15 years and above would have earned Sh118,845 in 2021, whilst men aged 15 years and above would each have earned Sh22,676 for the same period,” reads the report.

The findings tie with the 2021 Time Use Survey Report, in which KNBS showed women spent 25.8 billion hours on unpaid domestic and care work, while men spent 4.8 billion hours. The Sh2.423 trillion total value equates to nearly a quarter (23.1 per cent) of Kenya’s economy in 2021, reigniting the global debate on the economic invisibility of domestic and care work.

The study relied on the 2021 Time Use Survey Report and the Kenya Continuous Household Survey to quantify how much time women and men spent on household and care activities, assigning an equivalent market wage to that labour.

The report identifies food and meals management and preparation as the single most valuable category of unpaid work for women at Sh1.073 trillion from 14.7 billion hours, compared to men’s Sh157 billion from 2.1 billion hours.

Caring and maintenance of textiles and footwear came second, valued at Sh295.98 billion for women and Sh55.33 billion for men. Cleaning and maintaining the home and its surroundings was third at Sh192.92 billion for women and Sh48.17 billion for men. Childcare, including feeding, cleaning and physical care, came fourth with women at Sh176.83 billion and men at Sh7.12 billion.

Shopping for household and family members rounded out the top five, with women’s work valued at Sh65.58 billion compared with men’s Sh27.64 billion.

The report further divides unpaid work into domestic and caregiving services. Women’s contribution to domestic services was Sh1,651.5 billion versus Sh322.1 billion for men, while caregiving activities by women were Sh237.8 billion compared with Sh31.8 billion for men. On average, women accounted for 84.2 per cent of the total imputed labour input, while men contributed 15.8 per cent.

In broad categories, nutrition services (food and meals management and preparation) led at Sh1,230.8 billion or 54.9 per cent of total UDCW, followed by clothing services at Sh351.3 billion (15.7 per cent), housing services at Sh273.6 billion (12.2 per cent), and care work at Sh253.1 billion (11.3 per cent). Pet care, travel and household management services comprised the remainder.

Women dominated labour in nutrition (87.2 per cent), clothing (84.2 per cent), and care work (89.2 per cent), while men contributed more to pet care (60.1 per cent), travel (35.2 per cent), and household management (30.8 per cent).

The KNBS report emphasises that recognising the economic value of unpaid domestic and care work is crucial to understanding Kenya’s hidden economy.

Experts argue that failing to account for this labour perpetuates income inequality, lowers productivity and constrains national growth.

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• Kenyan women shoulder Sh1.89 trillion in unpaid domestic work
• says KNBS