In a first-of-its-kind cross-sectional mixed-method study, the Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3) has published a paper titled ‘Spousal Support and Work Performance during Covid-19 among Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) in Rural Bihar, India’.
It surveyed 1338 EWRs with an in-depth interview with 31 EWRs. This study, specific to EWRs from villages in 10 Bihar districts, investigates the importance of spousal support and its impact on EWRs’ work performance. The study highlights the importance of husbands’ help and support in strengthening an EWRs’ output at work and sheds light on the importance of gender role changes - specifically, the shift of domestic labour responsibilities from women to men - to empower women in the workplace.
The study found that 76 per cent of EWRs received help from their husbands with their official work, while 39 per cent of them received help with domestic labour. Furthermore, the study found that the support from EWRs’ husbands increased for domestic chores after the workload of the ERWs went up (which went up by 46.3 percent since the pandemic).
This, in turn, aided the ERWs to perform their role more effectively, including arranging necessary services during the pandemic. Ultimately, this resulted in a firmer belief in themselves to make an impact as ERWs. In addition, it was observed that ERWs’ husbands were most supportive when it came to intervening in cases of domestic violence against women.
These findings suggest that when husbands take on a more significant share of domestic chores, it frees up time for ERWs to participate in work-related activities and help them take on leadership roles in their communities.