Why do we value the work of someone caring for our car more highly than the work of someone caring for our children?
This is the question I heard someone ask on the Radio 4 programme ‘Woman’s Hour’ this morning, and it really knocked me for six.
Of course, I’ve thought about this before – how what is seen traditionally in this country as ‘woman’s work’ – childcare, cleaning, possibly even teaching – is somehow seen as less valuable than the traditionally male pursuits of say, managing finances and fixing things. However, put in this very simple dichotomy – children vs cars – and comparing the abilities of the people who care for each – really brings to light the illogicality and skewed nature of our value system. Of course, our children (or, for that matter, our elderly, the disabled or other vulnerable members of society) are at least as important as our vehicles, and of course there is just as much, if not more, responsibility and skill involved in ensuring they are well looked after.
For hundreds, if not thousands of years, though, that work was done unpaid (and for the most part, unappreciated) by women. And still, today, we take it for granted that those who do that for a living are at the very bottom rungs of the ladder and deserve little more than the minimum wage for the hard and vitally important work they do.
There’s been much talk in the Media lately about how these perspectives are shifting, and how the current health crisis is giving us an appreciation for people ‘on the frontline’ in roles that previously go unacknowledged. Every Thursday in the UK we’ve been out there on our doorsteps ‘clapping our carers’, and the hope is that this will, at some point, translate into actual policies that give better working conditions and pay to those people. I believe though that these attitudes and the underlying misogyny at the heart of some of this run deep and I worry that once this whole Covid situation is over, we will just go back to business as usual.
I so often hear from people I work with that they would love to change careers into something with more meaning for them – perhaps more of a caring or creative role – but that “that kind of work doesn’t pay the bills”. While there are often untested assumptions here and a career change can have less of a financial impact than many predict, there could also be some sad truth to it. Yes, it’s probably true that if you’re a corporate lawyer and you want to give it up to become a teacher, you are probably going to take a hit to your salary. And yes, it can be hard to pay the bills if you’re a full time artist or work in childcare. We take it for granted that a lawyer is paid more than a teacher, or a nursery nurse or artist, without stopping to think about the value that each brings to society.
I would love to, one day, see a society where everyone’s natural strengths and contributions are valued equally – those who care for our loved ones, keep the streets clean and the everyday logistics of our lives running smoothly, who work tirelessly and passionately to educate our young people, as well as those who create works of art and culture that bring meaning and beauty into our lives. Every single person has a gift, and we should recognise and celebrate the diversity in these contributions rather than suggesting that certain types of roles are more important than others.
Until our carers get the recognition they truly deserve - fair pay and a truly respected status in society i.e. not just a quick pat on the back by the Prime Minister - I’ll keep clapping. But I’ll be joining others in holding this government to count to make sure it doesn’t end there.