By Marina Durano
Recovery with care
The pandemic lockdowns and limits to mobility taught painful lessons about the importance of care. First, the pandemic forced us to recognize the value of care workers as essential and that we are dependent on a broad spectrum of essential workers. Second, a significant share of deaths occurred in long-term care homes, exposing the vulnerabilities of a long-neglected sector. Third, parents with school-age children felt the stresses of holding down a job while working from home at the same time that they are caring for their children and family members within a confined space.
These realizations have inspired women’s movements around the world to demand a feminist approach to recovery from the pandemic. Normal was the problem; building back is not the way forward. All discussions on recovery need to recognize the value of care work, reducing the burdens of care, and redistributing the responsibilities for care.