Fellows

Salzburg Global Fellow J. Jarpa Dawuni "challenges societies and gender activists to think more about caring for the carers"

In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic and racial social justice unrest in the US in particular, the arc of morality shifted towards the issue of women in the care economy. From the plethora of op-eds, books, convenings and conference panels on this issue, it is evident that the world is (re)awakening to the role caregivers play in the private and the public sectors of our societies. Most of these caregivers are predominantly women of color. A 2020 article by Salzburg Global Fellow Jocelyn Frye on the impact of COVID-19 on women of color indicated that 60.3% of maids and housekeepers, 50.3% of nursing assistants, and 45.7% of personal care aides are women of color.

In October 2022, I attended a Salzburg Global Seminar program Health and Economic Well-being: Gender Equality in Post-Pandemic Rebuilding. The five-day session convened a diverse group of women representing over 26 countries with diverse professional backgrounds and lived experiences. The energy that galvanized our five days of deliberation, sharing, co-creating ideas and strategizing for centering women in the post-pandemic rebuilding was simply infectious and invigorating. I came back hopeful that if we examine women in the care economy through an intersectional lens, we can move the needle forward for women in the care economy.

As we explore innovative and sustainable ways of addressing the care economy, I am struck by the narrow definition of the “care economy.” My call to action is to challenge societies and gender activists to begin to think more about caring for the carers. When we talk about carers in our societies, we often think of those who provide primary care - parents, babysitters, health professionals, and teachers. These groups consist largely of women of color, and immigrant women who remain underpaid.

We must expand our conceptualization of the care economy to include those I classify as secondary carers—and this group includes individuals who serve food at restaurants, the janitors who keep our surroundings clean, and those who provide direction and customer service at public venues such as airports.

Noticing the Unnoticed

Most women will probably relate to this example. Have you noticed that the lines to the women’s bathrooms/restrooms at airports are usually long—and longer than the men’s restrooms?

Maybe we need a feminist architectural redesign of public bathrooms. I began noticing this trend, especially at airports because I travel quite a bit. I also started noticing the invisible woman in the bathroom corner who was stationed there to clean and keep the place tidy, hygienic, and refreshed. For most of us, we go in and out of restrooms fast, either to run off to catch our flight or to catch a ride home after a long flight.

In 2018, I decided to develop a new habit, consciously noticing the cleaning lady in the corner of the restroom. Afterall, it was because of her that I could go to a clean and hygienic bathroom after a flight. I decided that each time I used the bathroom, I would take a few minutes to say thank you to the cleaning lady in the corner. I also decided to tip her if I had change on me.

Tips and Thanks

Due to the pandemic and the halt in traveling, I did a few of those “tips and thanks” up until 2019. But today, I was reminded of my pledge when I went through the ever-so-busy Hartsfield Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. I only had a $100 bill in my purse. I was tempted to give that to the lady, but I also had some budgetary needs to attend to. I ran out of the bathroom and went to the shop next door to buy gum so I could get change. The shop attendant told me she had no change, but the lady in front of me had smaller bills and kindly gave me five $20 bills. I went back to the restroom and fulfilled my pledge of “tip and thanks.”

Caring for the Carers.

I decided to share this experience with the world, not because I want to put my “little generosity” on display but to showcase how we all, in our little ways, can take care of those who care for us. A simple “thank you” goes a long way to boost the morale of a worker. Most of those who clean our public spaces are women, and a higher majority of those are women of color. In our attempts to center women in the care economy in a post-pandemic rebuilding, let us open our minds and hearts to the invisible faces in the care economy – who are everywhere around us. In caring for the carers, we all contribute to making the world of work better; we contribute to centering women in the care economy.

Sometimes, all it takes to care for a carer is simply to say thank you. Join this movement to care for the carers!

J. Jarpa Dawuni is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University, Washington D.C. She is a qualified Barrister-at-Law before the Superior Courts of Ghana. She holds a Doctorate in Political Science from Georgia State University. Her primary areas of research and advocacy include law and development, judicial politics, women and the legal professions, gender and the law, international human rights, democratization and women's civil society organizing.