Domestic labour

Unpaid domestic labour includes cooking, cleaning, shopping and childcare. It also includes organising family life, such as arranging medical appointments and remembering birthdays. This work supports other family members but may receive little recognition because it is not paid employment.

Cooking, cleaning and caring for children are forms of domestic labour. Zaretsky emphasised the unpaid labour traditionally performed by women: keeping workers fed, clothed and cared for helps them continue in paid employment. Employers benefit from this work without directly paying for it.