Season 2, Ep 8: There’s An Eruption in My Living Room: The Care Economy, Part 2
Caregiving is a second economy that requires a skilled workforce all its own. Yet, in the absence of acknowledging the scale and critical relevance of this economy, the main drivers and load-bearers of this economy remain women. This makes it nigh impossible for women to compete on an equal footing with men in the workplace. We simply cannot achieve gender parity without more support and without others taking on their share of the load. During the pandemic the Care-Economy became visible, showing us all that caregivers deserve better. Dr. Nithila Peter joins us in a 2 part series to discuss solutions.
You can subscribe! so you don’t miss any episodes! Time-stamped show notes are below. You can find a transcript of today’s episode here.
If you would like to learn more about today’s topic:
Unfinished Business by Anne Marie Slaughter
The Price of Motherhood; Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued, by Ann Crittendon, (2001)
Secrets of the Sprakkar by Eliza Reid
Blessing Adesiyan, the Founder and CEO of Mother Honestly, is a good resource
1:00 Women are disproportionately responsible for the caring of others
1:30 Dr. Nithila Peter is joining us today
2:36 Today is about solutions
2:45 Part 1 discussed lack of support system
3:32 Part 1 discussed society places a low value on caregiving, no support systems were put in place when mothers entered the workforce, and modern feminism forgot about mothers
4:18 Mothers face bias
4:50 Inaccurate that mothers are less committed
5:35 Mothers earn $.69 for every $1 earned by men
6:30 Motherhood penalty
6:50 Men’s standing increases when becoming fathers
8:20 Women gain skills when becoming mothers
10:40 Emotion, mental, and physical toll of trying to do it all
11:00 Lessons from Indian, Latin, and Indigenous cultures
11:50 Mothers have high cultural value in India
12:25 Story of Nithila’s Indian (South-Asian) family helping to raise her children
13:30 Nithila’s family and extended network enabled her to complete her PhD
14:00 Workplaces should value unique skills of parents
15:20 Obama’s made caregiving more visible through Marian Robinson
18:00 Asian culture offers solution but is a hard model for families stretched thin
19:15 Motherhood is more visible in India for actors, politicians, and others
21:00 Mothers have also been wartime leaders
21:10 Overturning of Roe v. Wade puts additional pressure on the care economy
22:22 18 year old had twins - what support does she have?
23:00 Appalled by mother’s lives now at risk
23:30 Dobbs further reduces mothers’ power in society
24:30 Will gender parity be extended due to Dobbs?
25:30 Difficult to make this prediction
27:50 One solution is more legislative support like paid leave
28:30 Family planning needs more attention
29:09 Flex and hybrid arrangements should stay in place
32:15 Celebrity male leaders do not have reputations for being good caregivers
33:00 We need more caregivers and those with empathy in leadership roles
34:30 We all have equal opportunities to grow caregiving skills
34:45 Many economic successes during pandemic while workers were at home
35:25 Focus on organizational culture
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Co-Hosts: Deborah Pollack-Milgate and Cathy Nestrick
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