A Discussion on the Remuneration of Domestic Work

In the field of women's studies, housework is widely recognized as a significant aspect of unpaid female labor. In the 1970s, for example, international campaigns were launched to raise awareness of women's unpaid labor and demand wages for housewives. Similarly, international organizations have developed policy recommendations to include the value created by housewives in GDP calculations. However, there are only a limited number of studies in the literature that address the issue of remuneration for domestic work in the context of social policy. This study aims to initiate a discussion about who should meet the demand for the remuneration of housework and how, based on a feminist economic approach. In this context, the study employs the minimum wage method to calculate the current wage for housewives in Turkey. The study concluded that wage demands for housewives are important in terms of making women's labor visible. In this context, the wages that will be received by women could serve as a starting point for their inclusion in the social security system. In this context, analyses and studies addressing the proportion of domestic labor in GDP will also be discussed within the scope of the study, which considers the demand for housewives' remuneration.