Valuing a Homemaker’s Work

The Supreme Court has recently said that homemakers should be treated as “nation builders” because their unpaid household work has real economic value. In a June 2026 case, the Court held that if a homemaker dies in a motor accident, the loss of her domestic and care work should be counted separately while giving compensation. In that case, the Court fixed the value of such work at ₹30,000 per month.

This is not a new idea. Earlier also, in Kirti v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., the Supreme Court said that homemakers’ work must be given a notional income because it is linked to dignity, equality and recognition of labour. The Time Use Survey also shows that unpaid domestic and care work is mostly done by women in India. So, this judgment is important because it legally recognises the economic value of women’s unpaid work at home.