scholarly journals Addressing Unpaid Care and Domestic Work for a Gender-equal and Inclusive Kenya: WE-Care policy briefing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Oloo ◽  
Amber Parkes

Care work is the heartbeat of every society: it contributes to our wellbeing as a nation and is crucial for our social and economic development. Yet the disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work results in time poverty and significant opportunity costs, particularly among the poorest and most marginalized women and girls. This policy brief outlines why unpaid care work is a critical development, economic and gender equality issue for Kenya. It draws on two sets of evidence from Oxfam’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) programme, which explore the impact of women and girls’ heavy and unequal unpaid care responsibilities both before and during COVID-19.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baowen Xue ◽  
Anne McMunn

School and nursery closures and homeworking during the Covid-19 crisis have resulted in an immediate increase in unpaid care work, particularly for parents. Amongst contemporary couples in the UK, women spent more time than men doing housework, childcare and caring for adults prior to the crisis; thus, lockdown draws new attention to gender inequality in divisions of unpaid care work. This study aims to answer how couples in the UK divided childcare and housework during lockdown and whether this is associated with changes in levels of psychological distress. Data for this study come from the April and May waves of Understanding Society Covid-19 study. Psychological distress was measured using the GHQ score (ranges from 0 to 36). Unpaid care work included men and women’s hours spent on childcare and housework and the impact of increased unpaid care work on employment schedules. We found that every week, women spent 5 more hours on housework and 10 more hours on childcare than men during lockdown, and this increased housework and childcare was associated with higher levels of psychological distress for women. One-third of parents adapted their work patterns because of childcare/ homeschooling. Men and women who adapted their work patterns had on average 1.16 and 1.39 higher GHQ scores than those who did not. This association was much stronger if he or she was the only member in the household who adapted their work patterns, or if she was a lone mother. Only 10% of fathers reduced work hours due to care work compared to 20% of mothers. Fathers had more psychological distress if they reduced work hours but she did not, compared to neither reducing work hours. Our research suggests that lockdown has hit people with young families and lone mothers particularly hard in terms of mental health, and continued gender inequality in divisions of unpaid care work during lockdown may be putting women at a greater risk of psychological distress.


Author(s):  
January Febro ◽  
Mia Amor Catindig ◽  
Lomesindo Caparida

The digital gender divide is a major challenge that needs to be addressed in developing countries. Thus, the focus of this study is to address the digital il-literacy of girls and women that also fuels the digital gender divide. The goal is to produce an e-learning module that focused on the skills to be measured in assessing ICT skill in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4. This can be used during training as a tool to capacitate participants like marginalized women and girls. The development of this e-module follows the research and development using the 4D model process that begins in define phase, followed by the design of e-learning content and development activities, and lastly disseminate. The impact of the e-learning module was evaluated during ICT literacy training for marginalized women and girls. This study found that utilizing e-learning modules in the development of skills among participants was significant. This study was a humble step towards gaining technological skills of the marginalized girls and women in the Philippine community to-wards ICT4D.


Author(s):  
Ito Peng ◽  
Jiweon Jun

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance of care and care work, and exposed pre-existing inequalities. Our survey of the impacts of COVID-19 on parents with small children in South Korea reveals that mothers were much more likely to bear the increased burden of childcare than fathers, which, in turn, had direct and negative impacts on their well-being. We discuss how South Korea’s dualised labour market, gender-biased employment practice, social norms about childcare and instrumental approach to family and care policies may have contributed to the persistent unequal distribution of unpaid care work within households and gender inequality.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1097184X2110003
Author(s):  
Gary Barker ◽  
Stephen Burrell ◽  
Sandy Ruxton

COVID-19 has affected individuals and communities in gendered ways. A spike in men’s violence against women has been documented in multiple settings.  Women have faced disproportionate job losses in many countries. Men have died at higher rates from COVID-19 for both biological and social causes. Masculinist responses by some national leaders, and men’s lower propensity to adhere to COVID-19 related health recommendations are also gendered. Research further confirms that both women and men in the context of heterosexual households increased their time devoted to unpaid care, even as women’s increases were generally higher. In the face of these challenges some NGOs increased programming to engage men in violence prevention and carried out advocacy to promote men’s more equitable participation in unpaid care work.  As the world recovers from the pandemic in 2021, an understanding of how masculinities and gender norms and power dynamics affect recover will be vital.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hall ◽  
Mark Vincent Aranas ◽  
Amber Parkes

Across the globe, unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW) sustains communities and economies, provides essential care for children, sick and elderly people and those living with disabilities, and keeps households clean and families fed. Without unpaid care, the global economy as we know it would grind to a halt. Yet this work falls disproportionately on women and girls, limiting their opportunities to participate in decent paid employment, education, leisure and political life. Heavy and unequal UCDW traps women and girls in cycles of poverty and stops them from being part of solutions. To help address this, Oxfam, together with a number of partners, has been working in over 25 countries to deliver the Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) programme since 2013. WE-Care aims to reignite progress on gender equality by addressing heavy and unequal UCDW. By recognizing, reducing and redistributing UCDW, WE-Care is promoting a just and inclusive society where women and girls have more choice at every stage of their lives, more opportunities to take part in economic, social and political activities, and where carers’ voices are heard in decision making about policies and budgets at all levels. This overview document aims to highlight the approaches taken and lessons learned on unpaid care that Oxfam has implemented in collaboration with partners in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Roupetz ◽  
Garbern Stephanie ◽  
Michael Saja ◽  
Bergquist Harveen ◽  
Glaesmer Heide ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: A myriad of factors including socio-economic hardships impact refugees, with females being additionally exposed to various forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The aim of this qualitative analysis was to provide new insight into the experiences of SGBV among Syrian refugee women and girls in Lebanon. Methods: The data are gained from a larger mixed-methods study, investigating the experiences of Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon, using an iPad and the data collection tool, SenseMaker ®. The survey intentionally did not ask direct questions about experiences of SGBV but instead enabled stories about SGBV to become apparent from a wide range of experiences in the daily lives of Syrian girls. F or this analysis, first-person stories by female respondents about experiences of SGBV were included in a thematic analysis. A random selection of male respondents who provided stories about the experiences of Syrian girls in Lebanon was also analyzed. Results: In total, 70 of the 327 first person stories from female respondents and 42 of the 159 stories shared by male respondents included dialogue on SGBV. While experiences of sexual harassment were mainly reported by females, male respondents were much more likely to talk explicitly about sexual exploitation. Due to different forms of SGBV risks in public, unmarried girls were at high risk of child marriage, whereas married girls more often experienced some form of IPV and/or DV. In abusive relationships, some girls continued to face violence as they sought divorces and attempted to flee unhealthy situations. Conclusions: This study contributes to existing literature by examining SGBV risks and experiences for refugees integrated into their host community, and also by incorporating the perceptions of men. Our findings shed light on the importance of recognizing the impact of SGBV on the family as a whole, in addition to each of the individual members and supports considering the cycle of SGBV not only across the woman ’ s lifespan but also across generations . Gendered differences in how SGBV was discussed may have implications for the design of future research focused on SGBV.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3708
Author(s):  
Omowunmi Mary Longe

South Africa has about 2.5 million households without electricity access, most of which are located in rural areas and urban informal settlements. The nexus of energy poverty and gender is at play in the affected communities, as women and girls are culturally stereotyped with the task of collecting unclean fuels (e.g., firewood) and using these for their households’ energy demands. Therefore, this study prioritized rural women and girls as respondents in the provinces most affected by gendered energy poverty (GEP) in the country. The study was carried out in selected rural unelectrified areas of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces using structured interviews. The study revealed that GEP in the rural areas has exposed women and girls living there to security concerns, health hazards, premature death, domestic fire accidents, time poverty, income poverty, illiteracy, drudgery in households and farm tasks, etc., at different levels of severity. It also showed the effects of perceptions, age, income, and culture on the choice of energy use among the respondents. Mitigation strategies against GEP in rural South African communities through clean energy adoption are also proposed in this paper.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Roupetz ◽  
Garbern Stephanie ◽  
Michael Saja ◽  
Bergquist Harveen ◽  
Glaesmer Heide ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: A myriad of factors including socio-economic hardships impact refugees, with females being additionally exposed to various forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). For instance, sexual exploitation and forced prostitution can become negative coping mechanisms through which some women and girls raise funds to cover their families’ living expenses. The aim of this qualitative analysis was to understand and to provide new insight into the experiences of SGBV among Syrian refugee women and girls in Lebanon. Methods: The data are gained from a larger mixed-methods study, investigating the experiences of Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon, using an iPad and the data collection tool, SenseMaker®. The SenseMaker survey intentionally did not ask direct questions about experiences of SGBV but instead enabled stories about SGBV to become apparent from a wide range of subjects of the daily lives of Syrian girls. For this analysis, all first-person stories by female respondents were screened and those about experiences of SGBV were included in a thematic analysis. To present men’s perceptions on these experiences, a random selection of stories about Syrian girls in Lebanon from male respondents was analyzed. Results: In total, 70 of the 327 first person stories from female respondents and 42 of the 159 male stories, included dialogue on SGBV. While experiences of sexual harassment were mainly reported by women and girls, male respondents were much more likely to talk explicitly about sexual exploitation. Due to different forms of SGBV risks in public, unmarried girls were at high risk of child marriage, whereas married girls more often experienced some form of IPV and/or DV. In abusive relationships, some girls and women continued to face violence as they sought divorces and attempted to flee unhealthy situations. Conclusions: Our findings shed light on the importance of recognizing the impact of SGBV on the family as a whole in addition to each of the individual members and to consider the cycle of SGBV not only across the woman’s lifespan but also across generations. The identified gendered differences in how SGBV was discussed may have implications for the design of future research focused on SGBV.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonya Marie Gonzalez ◽  
Julie Hee Jae Oh ◽  
Andrew Scott Baron

Stereotypes associating math more with men and boys than women and girls have been identified as a contributing factor to women’s underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields. Unfortunately, these stereotypes emerge as early as elementary school and begin to shape young girls’ math achievement and interest. This chapter documents the sources both in and outside of the school environment that contribute to the development of these stereotypes and reviews evidence of the relationship between children’s stereotypes and their math achievement. Furthermore, this chapter discusses recent research on interventions to increase young girls’ engagement in math-related fields. Strategies are provided for caregivers and educators to help change stereotypes about math and gender and disrupt the impact of these stereotypes on girls’ behavior.


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