“From an ecofeminist perspective, we understand that the sustainability of life should be at the front and center of our economic system, instead of profit and competition. That means valuing care work. It means valuing low-carbon jobs. It means valuing the sustainability of all life.” – Majandra Rodríguez Acha. This is the fourth episode of a mini-series, in collaboration with …
Making care count: Valuing work and wellbeing over wealth
We are heading into increasingly stormy times. Times when caring for each other will become more critical and challenging. By 2025, economies will be in crisis response mode, coping with 2.4 billion people living in areas without enough water. By 2030, an additional 100 million older people and a further 100 million children between 6-14 years of age will need …
The daily, unpaid work that greases the wheels of the global economy
Let’s do a thought experiment: What would happen if as soon as women gave birth they handed over their babies to the fathers to take total responsibility, at all times, of all needs? No women would be available for hire to take on all the domestic and care duties, so fathers couldn’t buy themselves out of the situation. What if …
Visions of a feminist future
What would a truly feminist world look like? Srushti Mahamuni explores the visions shared by representatives of feminist organizations and Oxfam staff at a recent learning event. Imagine its 2050 and you wake up one bright and sunny morning – the world as you know it has changed, for the better. It’s an inclusive, diverse and respectful world – it …
Care work matters – public services and infrastructure can make a difference
Thalia Kidder and Claudia Canepa explain why unpaid care work matters in tackling poverty and gender inequality, and discuss what can be done to recognise, reduce and redistribute the work load. Sustainable Development Goal 5.4 mandates that governments ‘recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion …
Why men matter in closing the caregiving divide
Jane Kato-Wallace, Senior Program Officer at Promundo-US, highlights the implications for organisations addressing the caregiving divide. The unpaid care work divide represents an enduring aspect of gender inequality. But what do we mean by “unpaid care work”? According to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, it consists of: “Domestic work and direct care of persons carried …