No credit to Care workers..?
Care work refers to those occupations that provide services that help people develop their capabilities, or the ability to pursue the aspects of their lives that they value. Examples of these occupations include child care, all levels of teaching (from preschool through university professors), and health care of all types (nurses, doctors, physical therapists and psychologists). Care work also includes the array of domestic unpaid work that is often disproportionately performed by women.
The care work that deserves the least credit and might be the root of the problem is the work that mothers do for their children which involves taking care of their children, work from home, attempt to keep their children busy, and trying to uphold the societal standards of parenting. The Washington Post article by Monica Hesse, “The unreasonable expectations of American motherhood”, brings to light the benefits mothers receive in countries outside of the United States. The post lists countries in Europe and others like South Korea, Israel, Mexico, and Chile providing resources and the tools to ensure the wellbeing of a mother and child. This included baby gear, midwife wellness checks, lactation consultants, and paid maternity leave. With all of these countries providing necessities for mothers’ everyday lives and doing well from it, American mothers’ situation in the US is the worse. Care work across our society is a job that is constantly overlooked and taken for granted. The children should be given lectures in order to spread awareness that how actually the work they (care workers, mothers etc) do is so important for them and that they should appreciate this and be thankful for their service whenever they get a chance.
The biggest obstacle to tackle here is the fact that the people who do not give respect to the care workers as they think of care work as jobs that only women are supposed to do. It is this thought that need to be destroyed, that gender play no part in this. This work is not valued enough and it is this lack of foundational value that people think that care work is their responsibility and their duty for the people receiving care. Some of my friends in high school never listened to their teachers and use to ignore their punishments and talk back to them. They used to leave classes without permission, they don't understand that the teachers are also facing trouble teaching online and it is them that they are working for. Care workers are overworked and underpaid whether we are in a pandemic or not. They are constantly maintaining and saving lives through everyday circumstances, or in a crisis. We could not survive without the help of frontline workers. Whether it’s mother’s work, working in the care system, or maintaining social skills for care; America casts aside the importance of all these things and the need for them. Without the people in these roles our world would not function the way it is today. That being said, if we recognized the work and difficulties that people in these roles do for us, our world could run much better and more efficiently without burning out those who care for us.
