THE SOCIAL SCIENCE literature has long recognized that women’s productive
activities are poorly measured. Boserup (1970) is credited with first raising
the question of whether women’s work is accurately accounted for in labor
force statistics. In subsequent years, scholars have noted that surveys are often
designed with a male bias that fails to capture many of the jobs performed by
women. Evidence indicates that women’s work is underreported in official
data, censuses, and labor force surveys. 1 Standing contends that “conceptual
and statistical practices have made much of women’s work ‘invisible’” (1999:
586). Yet, correct information on women’s (and all) work is “crucial for diagnosing
the causes of poverty and inequality—and for guiding policymakers
in their attempts to improve living standards” (Schaffner 2000a: 217). It is
likely that unreported work makes a substantial contribution to family welfare
and represents a significant source of underestimation in national accounts.
Moreover, employment status, occupation, and income are recognized as
“important aspects of women’s status and [for] their relevance to various
population, health and nutrition outcomes” (Measure DHS 2006a: 36).