Too many unpaid carers in the UK are struggling by on their own, unseen by policy makers. Taking inspiration from the union movement, says Hannah Webster of Care Full, it’s time to build the collective solidarity that can amplify our demands for an economy that values and supports us – and lifts carers out of poverty.
‘I have two jobs: one that keeps someone alive – and one that I get paid for.’
Unpaid carers like me save the NHS £119 billion a year, says Laura Barnes of the We Care Campaign – yet our rewards include burnout, poverty, never seeing friends and being pushed out of jobs. In the second blog in our series for Carers Week in the UK, she says it’s time to value what the millions of carers do: and that starts with tailored services, financial support, flexible work and access to respite.
Data and debt: The twin obstacles to justice on care and domestic work
The recent historic International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) conference in Rome highlighted two big challenges standing in the way of the UN’s ambitions to address unpaid care and domestic work so that it is valued and shared equitably. Chama Mwandalesa – who joined the annual gathering in Rome – explains.
Don’t see the value of care, carers and informal workers? We have some messages that might just change your mind…
Tired old narratives such as care is not ‘real’ work need to be challenged. Sanika Sawant, Alex Bush, Anam Parvez Butt, Blandina Bobson, Silvia Galandini and Regis Mtutu on new Oxfam research from Kenya, Zimbabwe and the UK that tested new narratives with exciting potential to build government and public support for care, carers and informal workers.
It’s time for the World Bank to show it truly cares about unpaid care
The next funding cycle for the World Bank’s International Development Association could top $100bn – and, says Fiana Arbab, we must keep a close eye on the fraction of that being committed to transforming the lives of the billions of women doing care work.
A Flawed GDP Bypasses Women’s Unpaid Care Work
Nearly 90 billion hours of unpaid care work, without which economic growth would come to a halt, do not count as part of that growth. Professor Naila Kabeer explains why this makes the GDP a flawed metric. Last week the IMF offered a cautious estimate of positive global economic growth for this year, warning ‘we are on track, but not …
I’m an unpaid carer: I have no paid job – but I do have value
The value of unpaid care for disabled, ill and older people in the UK is equal to the entire budget of the NHS, yet it’s not even counted in our GDP. In a blog for Carers Week, Katy Styles explains why she founded the grassroots, volunteer-led We Care campaign to demand a new deal for the millions of invisible carers like her.
Want to support women in enterprises in low-income countries? Here’s what Oxfam knows after many years of working with small businesses
In our final blog around International Women’s Day, Anoushka Boodhna, Tamara Beradze and Anais Mangin set out seven things Oxfam has learned about supporting women in new and growing businesses in some of the poorest countries – and what we need to do differently
Change in social norms around men’s unpaid care work
Social norms which restrict men’s participation in unpaid care work need to change in order to achieve gender equality. But, how do these norms change? Lucia Rost shares insight from research in northern Uganda. Domestic work and caring for people is crucial to society and the economy. Across the world, women undertake more than three-quarters of unpaid care. This perpetuates …
From burden to benefit: Reframing the conversation on care
If I said you could either invest in something that is essential or something that is a burden, which would you choose? I’m guessing most people would choose the former. How we frame things matters. From political slogans to hashtags to social justice campaigns, anyone who has tried to compel others into action knows that the words we choose are …