Assessing Value of Unpaid Labor Urged

WASHINGTON —  The daily toils of cooking meals, bathing a child or mowing the lawn may carry their own rewards, but some lawmakers and national women’s leaders said Thursday that they want the work officially counted.

Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins (D-Mich.) introduced a bill that would factor in unpaid labor as part of the gross domestic product, which measures the value of production within the nation’s borders.

The monetary value would have to be calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through time use surveys of “unremunerated work.”

The bill would have no direct financial benefit to anyone. But placing a value on unpaid labor could be used to empower women in divorce settlements or in lawsuits involving women who were injured and unable to carry out duties at home, Collins said.

Ginny Montes, national secretary of the National Organization for Women, said recognizing the contribution women make is essential to gaining full economic equality for them.