---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [D]emanding wages for housework (…)…"
description: "\"“[D]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of the fact that the domestic work which women do has economic value. But many feminists feel t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg"
---

#  \[D\]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of…

![“[D]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of the fact that the domestic work which women do has economic value. But many feminists feel that this demand leaves untouched the sexual division of labour - indeed, measures like paid maternity leave (…) can be seen as a form of’wages for…” quote by Nivedita Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg)

> ““\[D\]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of the fact that the domestic work which women do has economic value. But many feminists feel that this demand leaves untouched the sexual division of labour - indeed, measures like paid maternity leave (…) can be seen as a form of’wages for motherhood’ but(…) it fixes women more rigidly into work defined as ‘women’s work’.””

[Nivedita Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Demanding wages for housework highlights its economic value but may reinforce gendered labor divisions, especially with policies like paid maternity leave.

**In simple terms:** Paying for housework shows value but can lock women into gender roles.

Key Takeaway

Balance economic recognition with gender equity.

Themes

gender equity labor value policy feminism

Mood

critical analytical

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- wage negotiations
- family budgeting
- policy reform

Key Concepts

economic justice social policy gender roles

Questions to Reflect On

- How to value care work without gender bias?
- What policies truly empower women?

A Different Perspective

May reinforce traditional gender expectations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Gender equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-equality/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Maternity leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maternity-leave/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Women 's rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-s-rights/)

## Related quotes

> [Beginning in the 1800s with the Industrial Revolution, when women started to go into the formal workforce, leaving working at home to working in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-heymann/beginning-in-the-1800s-with-the-industrial-revolution-when-women/)

Jody Heymann

> [We're the only developed country in the world that doesn't have paid maternity leave. Paternity leave is just as important. Paid family medical leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/we-re-the-only-developed-country-in-the-world-that-doesn-t-have-paid/)

[Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/)

> [Voluntary paid maternity leave: yes; compulsory paid maternity leave: over this Government’s dead body, frankly. It just won’t happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/voluntary-paid-maternity-leave-yes-compulsory-paid-maternity-leave/)

[Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/)

> [One reason the United States is one of three countries in the world that do not have any form of paid maternity leave is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/one-reason-the-united-states-is-one-of-three-countries-in-the-world/)

[Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/)

> [Were the only advanced country on Earth that doesnt guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/were-the-only-advanced-country-on-earth-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Early childhood offerings vary, but everywhere in Europe and in Canada, they're far more generous than in the United States. Ukrainian dads may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/early-childhood-offerings-vary-but-everywhere-in-europe-and-in-canada/)

[Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/)

> [“A (house)wife now performs the tasks once distributed between servants of different rank or undertaken by the maid of all work. Her ‘core’ jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-pateman/a-house-wife-now-performs-the-tasks-once-distributed-between-servants/)

[Carole Pateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-pateman/)

> [“Wages Against Housework,” a pamphlet central to a feminist campaign in the 1970s condemning the unpaid labor of housework and caregiving. The theoretical import…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wages-against-housework-a-pamphlet-central-to-a-feminist-campaign-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Hatred of domestic work is a natural and admirable result of civilization. ... The first thing a woman does when she gets a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/hatred-of-domestic-work-is-a-natural-and-admirable-result-of/)

[Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/)

> [Hatred of domestic work is a natural and admirable result of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/hatred-of-domestic-work-is-a-natural-and-admirable-result-of-2/)

[Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/)

> [“Both liturgy and what is euphemistically termed 'domestic work' also have an intense relation with the present moment, a kind of faith in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/both-liturgy-and-what-is-euphemistically-termed-domestic-work-also/)

[Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/)

> [We have to change men's expectations, as they grow up, regarding their share of domestic work, of child care, but also of elder care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/we-have-to-change-men-s-expectations-as-they-grow-up-regarding-their/)

[Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/)

> [domestic work is the most elementary form of labor. It is suitable for those with the intelligence of rabbits. All it requires is cleanlines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/domestic-work-is-the-most-elementary-form-of-labor-it-is-suitable-for/)

[Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/)

> [Domestic work, is, after all, both tedious and repetitive, and it is not surprising that most women and all men avoid as much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stocks-baroness-stocks/domestic-work-is-after-all-both-tedious-and-repetitive-and-it-is-not/)

Mary Stocks, Baroness Stocks

> [The emancipation of woman will only be possible when woman can take part in production on a large, social scale, and domestic work no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-emancipation-of-woman-will-only-be-possible-when-woman-can-take/)

[Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/)

## More by Nivedita Menon

> [ “\[E\]ven today, when confident and self-affirmative lesbian identities have emerged and are available to women, images of 'lesbianism’ are still regularly appropriated by a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/e-ven-today-when-confident-and-self-affirmative-lesbian-identities/)

[Nivedita Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/)

> [ “\[S\]ocial order displays not the absolute presence or absence of intolerance to difference but a spectrum of intolerance. Each of us bears responsibility to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/s-ocial-order-displays-not-the-absolute-presence-or-absence-of/)

[Nivedita Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/)

> [“There is abundant scholarship which establishes that the delegitimation of homosexual desire and the production of the naturally heterosexual, properly bi-gendered (unambiguously male or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/there-is-abundant-scholarship-which-establishes-that-the/)

[Nivedita Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/)

> [ “\[O\]nce we give up on the idea that only heterosexuality is normal and that all human bodies are clearly either male or female, more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/o-nce-we-give-up-on-the-idea-that-only-heterosexuality-is-normal-and/)

[Nivedita Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/)

[Explore all 5 Nivedita Menon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/)

## More Feminism quotes

> [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/)

[Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/)

> [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/)

[Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/)

> [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/)

Joseph Joffre

> [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/)

[Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/)

> [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/)

[Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/)

> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/)

[Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/)

> [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/)

[Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/)

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

[Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“[D]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of the fact that the domestic work which women do has economic value. But many feminists feel that this demand leaves untouched the sexual division of labour - indeed, measures like paid maternity leave (…) can be seen as a form of’wages for motherhood’ but(…) it fixes women more rigidly into work defined as ‘women’s work’.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nivedita Menon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-recognition-of-the-fact-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Feminism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-recognition-of-the-fact-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/nivedita-menon-63731_feminism_d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-re_1136879.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“[D]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of the fact that the domestic work which women do has…” — Nivedita Menon",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Nivedita Menon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivedita-menon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“[D]emanding wages for housework (…) forced...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-recognition-of-the-fact-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivedita-menon/d-emanding-wages-for-housework-forced-recognition-of-the-fact-that/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```