Back to School: Changing the Conversation Around The Care Economy
by Sana Kapadia
As a parent and working mother caught in the thick of 2020’s pandemic, with school closure, constant child and home care, and a thriving career battling for attention, I have viscerally felt the impact of economic, financial and social structures designed without gender equality in mind. But by bringing these widespread challenges to the forefront of cultural conversations, the pandemic also presents opportunities to re-assess existing systems and frameworks. In its broadest form, as outlined by the Internal Labour Organisation, care infrastructure refers to the entire web of systems, frameworks, products and solutions across education, healthcare, domestic support, childcare, and eldercare which form the backbone of all societies. It encompasses paid and unpaid care work that enables economies and societies to function smoothly. This whole system is ripe for a closer look.
Why Care Infrastructure, and Why Now?
“research shows that investing in the care economy can be a more worthwhile investment in reducing public deficits and debt than austerity policies”
For many, September is back to school time. This time usually brings a sense of excitement, the smell of new books, and stationery shopping. This year, however, most schools all over the world have been closed since March (the 13th in Germany- trust me I remember!) with disproportionately gendered impacts. At peak points, the number of students affected by school and university closures in 138 countries reached more than 1.3 billion, i.e. more than 3 out of 4 children and youth worldwide. This impact is being felt even more by girls, particularly those in already vulnerable conditions such as refugees, migrants and places with limited social protection in place. As we “build back better”, there is a call to action to reframe our view on care infrastructure as part of creating more equal and resilient societies.
In fact, research shows that investing in the care economy can be a more worthwhile investment in reducing public deficits and debt than austerity policies, given the resulting increased employment, earnings and economic growth. Moreover, as a largely neglected investment theme, there remains much room for improvement and funding to areas such as time-saving infrastructure and technologies.
Expanding Definitions of Care and Essential Work
Acknowledging these persistent investment gaps in the care economy is key, as is a wider awareness of funding gaps. Alongside this, there needs to be a more nuanced acceptance of what work is considered essential, a conversation gaining mainstream attention on the heels of the pandemic. For instance, research by the Brookings Institute spotlights the importance of acknowledging all the foundational work and services such as healthcare, food supply, grocery retail, garbage services, care aides, cleaners and other roles in our societies that make things function. Going beyond labelling this work as ‘essential’, is a crucial first step in the journey towards supporting and investing in practices, policies and initiatives that enable a more viable, equitable and sustainable work-life balance and security for all. In our previous article by GenderSmart Co-founder Suzanne Biegel, we outlined the need to better define what investable opportunities in this space look like (accounting for regional nuances) and also highlighted prospective roles for funders and investors in both public and private markets.
A Collective Responsibility
“Care is still usually spoken about as a burden rather than an opportunity”
In order for there to be greater investment in the care economy, the conversation needs to shift from defining care as an individual burden to a collective social responsibility, with collective solutions. At the corporate level, seminal work by IFC unpacks how organisations can embed a gender lens into their recovery and workplace plans. Systems level dialogue also needs to occur, which involves diverse stakeholders, including policy makers. There are already holistic and equitable COVID recovery plans underway, such as in Hawaii, Canada and New Zealand to name a few. There is also growing consensus on how female leadership has helped some countries get ahead of the COVID-19 crisis, and these also happen to be some of the countries where schools and other elements of the care economy have resumed relatively normal activities.
From Burden to Opportunity
The gender and intersectional lens woven through these policy responses, alongside empathy-based leadership, merits widespread attention. Care is still usually spoken about as a burden rather than an opportunity, and in order to shift perceptions and reframe care infrastructure as an investable opportunity, we need to shift this negative language. In tandem, at a systems level, we also need to shift social norms and dismantle patriarchal economic and social structures that drive women’s marginalization, discrimination and the undervaluation of care. Now is the time to have a real dialogue about how much family structure has changed - in terms of both make-up and shifting responsibilities. We can all do a better job of understanding the cognitive labour and gender roles that persist in households, and which have immediate and longer-term consequences for gender equality in the global North, which are sometimes even worse for emerging economies.
Join us to chart actionable investment pathways in the care economy and to reframe the narrative on how the care economy is viewed, valued and supported. We are committed to supporting infrastructure that values and invests in all human life and work equitably. If you have any comments or useful resources to share, we’d love to hear from you.
Sana Kapadia is GenderSmart’s Head of Content. Image credit: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash