Making Care Work Visible: Domestic Work is Valuable and Should Be Paid
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This article is part of the 19th issue of LEAP — Voices of Youth e-letter. Subscribe now.
In traditional society, “caretaking” is perceived as a responsibility rather than a profession. Under the traditional gendered division of labor, women are often confined at home doing unpaid care work. In Taiwan, women did three times more unpaid work than men. In addition, the proportion of women who did not participate in the labor force due to housework responsibilities accounted for 50.4% of total unemployed women in 2019.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, single-income families are exposed to the risks of sharply reduced income. Though Taiwan’s situation has been less severe than many other countries over the past year, it still created an impact on the economy. Under such circumstances, paid care work can not only strengthen the resilience of the family economy but also redirects attention to the value of care work.
Given the steady demand for care work and housework, women become an important source of income
With a long-term dedication to the issue of “women and care work,” Peng Wan-Ru Foundation believes that care work and housework should be a paid profession. That is why the foundation trains women to become professional childminders, nannies, housework service workers, and household elder care workers who earn reasonable protection and income through care work.
As shared by Youmin Magao, the Team Leader of Home Service at Peng Wan-Ru Foundation, “Our trainees often come to us when the economy is greatly affected by the times, such as the financial crisis, SARS, or the ongoing pandemic. This is because the domestic market demand is more stable when the foreign market demand recessed.” The “domestic market demand” mentioned above refers to work in the private sphere, such as caretaking and housework management. “Since there is someone to care for in the family, there is always housework that needs to be handled.”
Youmin Magao provides an example of a female housework service worker whose husband’s income from driving a taxi was sharply reduced due to the pandemic. Fortunately, she could still earn NTD 40,000 to 50,000 every month by providing housework services. As a result, the family was able to get through the difficult times.
Other than housework service workers, the workload of childminders also grew against the trend during the pandemic. Compared the case volume between the first quarter of 2019 and the same period of 2020, which is the time being severely impacted by Covid-19 in Taiwan, seven home and childcare service centers partnering with Peng Wan-Ru Foundation showed a 12% growth. Furthermore, some childminders also indicated that they cared for one additional infant on average amid the pandemic.
“During the pandemic, such ‘family-like’ work environments are actually safer because it provides less exposure to people compared to large childcare centers.” Huang Chiao-Ling, the specialist of R&D for childminder and childcare services explained that the risk of cluster infection is low since childminders can only accept a maximum of four infants or children. Most parents prefer this childcare approach, hence, childminders can be regarded as an alternative “stay-at-home economy” during the pandemic.
A stable rapport with long-term collaboration and third-party coordination
Nevertheless, care work and housework are intimate and private because the service provider must enter the client’s private sphere. In the pandemic era when social distancing is unavoidable, the service provider and client must establish a well-founded rapport to maintain the collaboration.
“The labor relation does not only involve service providers and clients. We also have the third party.” According to Li Ting-Hsin, the specialist of R&D for childminder and childcare services, childminders have home and childcare service centers as a third party for co-signing the contract, while housework service workers and household elder care workers have the Foundation for this role. “The two points between the service provider and client can only form a line. Adding a third point to the picture forms a more steady plane.”
On one hand, third-party coordination can suggest pandemic prevention instructions. On the other hand, it can also supervise the effectiveness of pandemic prevention, such as regular home inspections. Under the premise of transparency, service providers and clients can build a relationship based on equality, mutual trust, and mutual benefits.
However, it is difficult for a third party to intervene in a traditional profitable business relationship. Therefore, such a third-party role should be held by a non-profit organization or public sector. Peng Wan-Ru Foundation also advocates government and society’s attention to this model of care work and housework operation.
By making care work and housework a paid profession with a credible third-party as the bridge of communication, the economic impact of the pandemic may be mitigated. It may even turn the crisis into an opportunity, demonstrating the value of care work to society and making a big step on the path of gender equality.
Also in This Issue:
The Privacy Risks for Women at Home: COVID-19 Worsens Gender-based Cyber Violence
Digital environment is not always safe for gender minorities. More complete systems and legal protections are still on the way.
Financing for Gender Equality: A Developmental Effectiveness Is Being Underestimated
Why investing in women matters? Studies state gender equality brings eco/social benefits and drives sustainable innovation.
Author : Lin Si-hou
Freelance journalist exploring gender and public issues.
