Unpaid care work is an indispensable factor that highly contributes to the wellbeing of not only individuals but families as a whole. Despite it being an essential aspect of the economy, it is commonly left out in policy agendas mainly because of the misperception that compared to standard work measures it is relatively hard to measure and less relevant for policies (Hirway, 2008. Unpaid care has long been viewed as a female prerogative in various social settings, their view and how they address it has important implications for the achievement of gender equality. There has been increasing awareness regarding the unjust and unequal sharing of domestic responsibilities between men and women. With a global commitment emerging to eradicate the unequal sharing of responsibilities between men and women especially in families, many people are realizing that sharing of domestic work between partners leads to a high value of family life.
Double burden describes the situation in which women perform both paid work outside the domestic scope and also homemaking and childcare work at their homes. Since domestic work is considered private, double burden is therefore not remunerated and is not considered as real work but as part of gender role for women (Ferrant, Pesando, & Nowacka, 2014). In comparison to women, less time is disproportionately spent by men on unpaid care work. According to IWDA (2017) on average, women spend twice as much time on household chores compared to men and four times as much caring for children. The society expects women to be in charge of all household chores regardless of whether they are employed or not. Women are expected to clean, cook and take care of their children once they are home from work barely getting time for rest or rejuvenation. The massive amounts of time spent by most women on unpaid care means that the time they have for participation in civil and economic spheres is restricted. Working at home and also at work, may lead to adverse health effects on women due to lack of enough rest, this, therefore, affects their overall productivity at their workplaces.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Women are not exposed to a level playing field in the labor market caused by the uneven sharing of responsibilities between men and women. These women are already bearing the burden of unpaid care/work. The segregation and discrimination of women in the labor market tend to lower their wage rate. This means that most women are engaged in low productivity jobs, and due to gender discriminations against them, their average wage rate is low (Hirway, 2008). Due to the increased responsibilities at home, women have less energy as well as low priority for the market work; this means that their levels of productivity and engagement at workplaces hence limiting their growth. According to Kliff (2018), the gender wage gap is mostly attributed to childbearing. After the birth of their first child, most women will experience a sharp decline in income with no comparable earnings drop for their male counterparts. This may be attributed to social norms that make it hard for women to stay in the workforce after bearing children. Most of their effort is put towards the care of their children and the family, and with an increase of responsibilities, going back to work becomes hard. Also, domestic responsibilities make it hard for women to be mobile in their market job, either horizontally or vertically. Certain good jobs require constant travel and time, which may be hard for women to commit themselves, especially after childbearing. Also, domestic work does not give women enough time to build on their skills and further their education; this limits access to equal opportunities with men.
We live in an era where men want a more significant role in child-bearing, especially in the early stages of a child’s life. Men are generally awarded less paternity leave days compared to women, allowing men to take time off not only help's them bond with their newborns, but it helps distribute childcare duties allowing women to take care of their health and maintain their career (Holter,2015). Women are very vulnerable to postpartum depression, and one of the leading causes of this is when they feel overwhelmed. Longer maternity leaves are essential for ensuring mental health prosperity in women. When a woman focuses solely on caring for their child without continually thinking of their career or flow of money, her mental state is secured as well as the general health of the baby. Not providing paternity leave for fathers strengthens the societal beliefs that women are meant to be domestic workers and caregivers of their children. Childbirth is associated with physical, mental and emotional changes not only for women but also for men. When organizations provide paid and longer leaves, they give both partners a chance to not only care for their newborn but also adjust to the new changes appropriately.
According to Fetters (2018), stay-at-home dads are reshaping American masculinity. By withdrawing themselves from breadwinner roles, fathers create an opportunity to redefine manhood for themselves. Tradition expects men to work, to provide for their family and keep off from domestic work. With the emergence of stay-at-home dads, women are given the opportunity to narrow the wage gap. This is because they get more time to focus on their jobs and the development of skills. Stay-at-home dads are responsible for significant shifts in the society’s thoughts about work and gender roles.
Over 70 countries have passed legislation for paid paternal leaves, to allow men to enjoy the privilege (Baofang 2018). The balancing of childbearing responsibilities in most countries involved women taking care of the children and men providing for the families. Currently, many countries are acknowledging the wage gap between genders and the effects of childbearing. Enterprises globally, are coming forward with family-friendly policies that help in reducing gender discrimination and childbearing burdens. For example, Japan allows their employees, whether male or female to work for three days when they have babies at home they need to look after (Baofang,2018). Men are becoming more involved in the care of their children at early stages, and this has led to a reduced burden on women as well as improved mental and physical states.
Shared domestic responsibilities do not only benefit the partners but the family as a whole. When all domestic work is left to one gender, it may lead to overwhelming and eventually cause adverse health effects. When domestic roles are shared, equality is developed, it also allows women to build their skills and be mobile in the labor market. This makes them increase their income and support men in the management of domestic finances. It also allows men to be more involved in the lives of their children, therefore, strengthening their relationships. It is, therefore, necessary for partners to be aware of the greater value that arises as a result of sharing domestic responsibilities and pass on the same attitude to their children.
References
Baofang, L. (2018, May 25). New Insights into Balancing Employment, Childbearing - All China Women's Federation. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from http://m.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/xhtml1/opinion/1805/9307-1.htm
Ferrant, G., Pesando, L. M., & Nowacka, K. (2014). Unpaid Care Work: The missing link in the analysis of gender gaps in labour outcomes. OECD Development Centre, , 1-11. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/dev/development-gender/Unpaid_care_work.pdf
Fetters, A. (2018, September 6). Stay-at-Home Dads Are Reshaping American Masculinity. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/09/stay-at-home-dads-masculinity/569425/
Hirway, I. (2008). Equal Sharing of Responsibilities between Women and Men: Some Issues With Reference to Labour and Employment. Division for the Advancement of Women , 1-9. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/dev/development-gender/Unpaid_care_work.pdf
Holter, L. (2015, June 18). The U.S. Is Sorely Behind When It Comes To This. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/90820-paid-paternity-leave-is-essential-for-gender-equality-why-is-the-united-states-taking-so-long
IWDA. (2017, January 23). The double burdern for women | IWDA. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://iwda.org.au/resource/the-double-burden-the-impact-of-economic-empowerment-initiatives-on-womens-workload/
Kliff, S. (2018, February 19). A stunning chart shows the true cause of the gender wage gap. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.vox.com/2018/2/19/17018380/gender-wage-gap-childcare-penalty
