- Project Report
Shifting narratives to value unpaid and informal work in Kenya
Alina Ojha, Nosariemen Nosakhare, Janeth Amwoma, Morgan Kabeer & Blandina Bobson
- August 14, 2024
- 3:40 pm
SECTOR
PROJECT TYPE
Location
BEHAVIORAL THEME
OVERVIEW
Unpaid Care and Domestic Work (UCDW) and Paid Domestic Work (PDW) are essential to societal wellbeing. However, these activities often carry negative perceptions, attitudes and beliefs when performed by men and boys. As a result, women and girls typically shoulder the primary responsibility for performing UCDW. Similarly, society often undervalues PDW by perceiving it as low-skilled work, as demonstrated through low remuneration and unfair employment practices. The narratives many cultures embrace concerning UCDW and PDW partly explain why these essential activities frequently fall on women and girls, and why society often undervalues PDW.
THEMATIC AREAS
This report documents a collaborative research project between Busara Center for Behavioral Economics and Oxfam to investigate existing narratives on UCDW and PDW in Kenya, and test potentially transformative narratives that could shift societal attitudes. Overall, the quantitative results suggest that the impact of different frames varies considerably, depending on the context and nature of decisions. While gain frames may influence attitudes and perceptions more effectively, loss frames might motivate actions with monetary incentives more successfully.