"It is high time to recognize and value this kind of work."
Ever wondered how it happens that whenever you want patis with your ulam, it miraculously appears? Or when you come home late you still have dinner waiting for you? How is it possible that your favorite shirt is always clean and smells fresh? In this time of pandemic when everyone’s home, how come the house remains tidy and orderly?
These are miracles that many take for granted and regard as normal. We expect things to be there, or to happen when we want them to. Well, it is not easy to make these things work.
The truth is, your patis does not just appear in your pantry. It takes money to buy, planning to make sure you never run out of it, and effort to actually get it so you are not irked when you want it. Your dinner does not voluntarily wait for you. It takes someone to actually prepare and make sure you will still enjoy the food even if you come home very late. Your shirt does not wash and iron itself. It takes hours of work to accomplish these and to make sure it is ready when you decide to use it. During this time of quarantine, everyone is home. It is harder to keep the house clean. It needs a system, foresight, long hours of meticulous work to keep things in place, and boundless energy to maintain your home.
Now that schools will not physically open, your children will be learning from home. However, this means that parents must be involved in more ways than before. There is the need to ensure that what the children need is ready, and that they are actually “attending” class and learning. This will require many hours of supervision and mentoring in addition to the usual work waiting to be done.
Who does all these and more? Mostly, it is your mother, wife, and if they are lucky, the other women and girls in your household. Does this kind of work have a name? Yes, it is called “care work.” Sounds nice, right? The term “care work” implies doing things with utmost consideration for others. It implies work done for love.
Is it not romantic? Indeed, it is. The term actually romanticizes backbreaking, emotionally draining, unending, unrecognized, undervalued, and unpaid women’s work. In Filipino society, many consider this as “natural” women’s work despite the fact that millions of Filipinas have already broken through the corporate world, have careers, or are involved in livelihood pursuits. The mindset remains—home and family are women’s domains.
Because care work is a “natural” women’s responsibility, it is unpaid. Yet, if you get someone else to do the work, you must pay them. The amount of pay is another story though.
Care work is unrecognized and undervalued. Work for most is equated with getting paid and what women do for their families and homes is not. What do you think is the reason behind housewives’ low self-esteem despite the unending hours they put in to fulfill their responsibilities? I will never forget how community women, when asked if they work, will answer with bowed heads, “Wala po, sa bahay lang.” Even many housewives do not believe that they do important work.
However, when they go through the exercise of detailing how they spend their days compared with how their men spend theirs, women realize that their work hours are much longer than men’s. Some even say that they are actually on call 24/7 for whatever their family needs!
This is also true for employed and career women. Despite their economic activities, they remain to be in-charge of home and family. “Modern” women do this via remote control. They manage and supervise their households from “work.” But when they go home, they take on the responsibility. The men rest.
Some women would quip, “But my husband HELPS!” In fact, many men do. But this does not erase the fact that they ONLY HELP, often, when they want and “have time.” House and family care work are NOT responsibilities of men and women are made to feel grateful for the few times they wash the dishes, clean house, take care of kids, or do the laundry. This is not fair or just.
For families who are lucky enough to have kasambahay, it should be noted that they are mostly women too. Thus, the responsibility is transferred to other women. We must also note that the payment for kasambahay is generally not much. This betrays further how society undervalues care work.
But what do studies about women’s unpaid care work say? According to the International Labor Organization, women do four (4) times more unpaid care work than men. The UN Women says that women’s unpaid contributions to healthcare equate to 2.35 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or the equivalent of US$ 1.5 trillion. However, when women’s contribution to all types of care is considered, the figure rises to US$ 11 trillion.
These figures prove that women’s unpaid, undervalued, and unrecognized care work is IMPORTANT. In fact, I do not know what will happen to the world if all women go on a care work holiday for just a week. Surely, there will be mess all over, families will go hungry and dirty, and men will not have an easy time “balancing” work and family.
Care work is WORK. It is high time to recognize and value this kind of work. Should women get paid for it? I say yes, why not?
@bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook