Care Work Is Not Woman's Work

Raising Children, caring for elders, and caring for the sick, is a social responsibility.

Meaning, it is a responsibility that we all share, not just the women in our society. Care work is not and should not be gender-based work…we collectively have to push against that notion.

In an effort to uphold and legitimize capitalism and patriarchy, we’ve been socialized to view and treat care work as women’s work, it ain’t. It’s people’s work.

Our homes. Our people. Our elders. Our children. They are all our collective responsibility...a responsibility that we all should be holding with love, regard, and nurturance.

This idea that women are born caregivers and the ones responsible for caretaking was created and continues to fuel our exploitation in all ways. Women who become mothers inside of heteronormative relationships know that they are also deciding to either work for free, depend on a man for financial security, or work two jobs (the job inside of the home and the job outside of the home.)

Women can make all of the money outside the home but will still be responsible for the housework and care work inside the home.

If you're a woman who has ascended to a higher class status, what that means is that you can now pay for another woman (usually a woman of color) to do your housework. Another woman who can't afford to hire someone else to do her housework, so she essentially has two jobs...always.

Do we see the problems? Do we see how this exploitation is linked, maintained, and expanded? Do we see how the struggle isn't just about getting higher pay for women at work outside the home but making sure we hold everyone responsible for care work?