The Actual Cost Sexism
By: Eve'S Apple The Mag
Tags: Sexism, Patriarchy, Volunteer, Sexual Health, Gender Equality

Trillions in Unpaid Care Work

“I don’t cook, I don’t clean” from the song “WAP” by CardiB x Meg the Stallion, may sound a bit over the top for some. Take a second glance at how much time unpaid care works takes up, then maybe you will be humming that very line. What is care work? It is caring for children, elderly and sick people. It also includes washing, cooking, shopping, cleaning and helping other families with their chores including being a volunteer. Yes, yes, this work is necessary to keep families and communities going. Small-anyana issue though; according to UNWomen women do ten years unpaid care work in their lifetime as compared to men who do your ears. If maths literacy serves, that is 60% of all care work being done by women. Cry a river of gold coins, that is the only way this could be worth it. The notion that women have the burden to care and men do bare minimum because they are branded bread winners is sexist.

Here are some scenarios for you; boy and girl go off to school in the morning. They return in the afternoon, change out of their school uniform, and eat. The boy goes off to play while she stays to cook supper before their mother comes home. Sound familiar? Twenty years later the girl is now grown. Herself and partner wake up early for work. She bathes their kids. The kids go to school, the go to work. In the evening, she cooks, puts the kids to bed while her partner finishes his work report and watches a bit of evening news. Sounds fair? No! Gendered social norms that view unpaid care work as a woman’s prerogative. These norms show themselves in heteronormative homosexual relationships. Feminine bodies across different regions, socio-economic classes and cultures spend an important part of their day on meeting the expectations of domestic and reproductive roles. This is in addition to their paid activities, thus creating the “double burden”. Can you spot the sexism yet?

A woman who has done paid work and unpaid care work finds herself giving dutiful sex to their partner. She can barely experience sexual pleasure because of exhaustion or resentment. Consider a day in her life working from dusk to dawn. She has no choice of when to work or pleasure, what are the probabilities of taking charge of their reproductive health. She falls pregnant and may be in a position to take maternity leave. During leave she does more care work for the baby and housework. She is unsupported; instead there are expectations for her to do more because ‘she is home the whole day’. There is absolutely no consideration for her mental well being. If she would like to have help, she may have to pay for it. She may have a pay cut for being on leave.

According to an Oxfam report; Women and girls undertake more than three-quarters of unpaid care work in the world and make up two-thirds of the paid care workforce. They carry out 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work every day. When valued at minimum wage this would represent a contribution to the global economy of at least $10.8 trillion a year, more than three times the size of the global tech industry. In low-income countries, women in rural areas spend up to 14 hours a day doing unpaid care work. Across the globe, 42 percent of women cannot get jobs because they are responsible for all the caregiving, compared to just six percent of men.

Some care workers — such as, community health workers, domestic workers, and migrant workers performing household work or care work (of children or the elderly and sick) — are remunerated. However, although they receive wages, they often work in the informal sector, are often underpaid and have no legal or social protection as workers. Though minimum wage for care workers has been determined in South Africa, there is a grave under payment. They have no real legal social protection as workers. The NGO sector is yet to start the conversation of decent pay for volunteers. These groupings of people leave their children and elderly in the care of others who also expect to be paid.

Here is no doubt that care is a benefit to society as it contributes to the well-being of those who go give and receive care. There is a need to recognise care work as an economic contribution. Though at times the work that needs doing cannot be reduced it can be redistributed such that not one gender/person carries the weight of doing it. Reducing care work means quality public service i.e access to water, responsive early childhood structure, organised elderly care. Unpaid care work contributes to mental health issues as more girls and women are getting education and start working- the need to work hard at home and in institutions can be mentally taxing and it need not be if redistribution and recognition happens. If we all agree that casework is important, it is time we attached some economic value to it.

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