Besa Luci in conversation with Marigona Drevinja and Nađa Bobičić.

In this episode we'll be talking about unpaid labor — about the cleaning, cooking, childcare, eldercare and more that is performed inside the home and in the family and which is not remunerated. Though unpaid, this labor is essential for the functioning of society and for other people's ability to engage in paid labor.

What makes the issue of unpaid labor so important is that it is mostly performed by women. This means that women are either expected to stay at home and out of the labor force or, if they have formal employment, to work a "second shift" after their regular working hours to take care of the household and the others living there.

This not only takes a physical, emotional and professional toll on women, it also prevents many from accessing the labor market in the first place. 

Two guests join us this episode to discuss unpaid labor in Kosovo, the Balkans and beyond.

Marigona Drevinja is the co-founder and Program Director of the Prishtina-based Institute for Social Policy “Musine Kokalari." K2.0 recently published an article written by Marigona with the title "Women bear the burden of unpaid care work in Kosovo,” in which she drew from her work on Musine Kokalari’s report “Who Cares? Unpaid Care Work in Kosovo.”

Nađa Bobičić is a feminist scholar and activist based in Belgrade. She helped us navigate the gender dimension of work and labor discrimination at SWEAT, our labor-focused Carnival in 2022. She is also the chief editor of a report published by the Belgrade Women's Studies Center titled "Get your time back: Research on the distribution of housework among millennial women and generation z."

Other Talking Points is produced by Besa Luci, Aulonë Kadriu and Gentiana Paçarizi. This episode was produced with additional research by Luca Tesei Li Bassi.

Music and sound mix by PUG musik.

This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.You can listen to Other Talking Points through our website or by subscribing to K2.0 on Spotify.