Covid-19: Caring for Care Workers

Credit: UN WomenBy Lan Mercado, Mohammad Naciri, and Yamini MishraUNITED NATIONS, Jun 5 2020 (IPS) COVID-19 has brought the world to a halt. Nations, businesses, and schools have closed, and billions are confined to their homes. Yet millions of care workers step out daily to keep the lights on and support those in need. The majority of them are women – nurses, community health workers, sanitation workers, and others. They earn little and are grossly undervalued despite keeping our society and economy running. Other forms of care – looking after families, cooking, cleaning, and fetching water aren’t paid at all. This ‘invisible’ work contributes over US$10.8 trillion a year to the global economy, and before COVID-19, women and girls provided 12.5 billion hours of free care work every day. On average, women spend over 4 hours for every hour men spend on care work in Asia and the Pacific – over 4 times as much. Women spend nearly 11 times in Cambodia and Pakistan, 10 times in India, and 3 times in Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Yet, when Asia launched Covid-19 responses and stimulus packages, women and care work’s amiss. This callous neglect is a result of prioritizing the economy above everything else, compounded by social norms that undervalue care work and leave the burden to women and girls. Care work, with no pay, has deprived women and girls of education, skill development, and gainful employment. It has left women with precarious jo...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Asia-Pacific Climate Change Development & Aid Environment Featured Global Headlines Health Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news