Care responsibilities are one of the main sources of health deterioration in women.
Jun 06, 2023
Care responsibilities are one of the main sources of health deterioration in women.
Jun 06, 2023
Three quarters of unpaid care work falls on women, according to Oxfam Intermón.
For the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This shows that achieving full health requires more than just biological balance. Over time, factors like culture, religion, place of birth, and socioeconomic status have also proven to affect well-being. Gender plays a role too, as women due to established gender roles are more likely to take on care responsibilities, which increases the risk of health deterioration. This is confirmed by the study “Care and Women’s Health” conducted by the Andalusian Institute for Women (IAM).
The same report points out that in Spain “three out of every four caregivers” are women, and they are primarily responsible for daily life activities such as helping with eating, dressing, or personal hygiene. This has “direct consequences” on their health: they report more pain, discomfort, chronic illnesses, and mental health issues because they have less time for physical activity, rest, or a proper diet.
The situation worsens when the person being cared for goes through a viral illness. Spending long hours providing care, administering medication, or preparing meals means that many mothers end up saying things like: “my child had a slight fever this week, and now I’m sick too.” An Oxfam Intermón study refers to the concept of “opportunity cost,” as many women miss out on opportunities for personal or professional development due to leaving their jobs or taking extended leave.
All this work and health-related exposure is by no means “remunerated”, nor has it historically been “equated” with work done in a factory or office. Despite this, the economic value of this care work, carried out mostly at home, could “triple” what the tech industry generates “globally”, according to an analysis published by Oxfam Intermón. The same report estimates that domestic work worldwide would be worth 10.8 trillion dollars per year. In Spain, sociologist Marta Domínguez published a report noting that unpaid care work would account for nearly 40% of GDP, exceeding 425 billion euros.
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to various health professionals, helped put the “model of society” on the table. With schools closed, many women were asking “who will take care of my children if I have to keep working?”, while others working in the health sector were afraid of “infecting the people they care for outside the hospital”.
In Spain, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that in 2019 there were around 316,094 registered nursing professionals, of whom 84.2% were women 266,020 in total. These figures show, once again, that it was women who most risked their health, highlighting the need to analyse health crises through a gender lens.
With this in mind, researchers Clare Wenham, Julia Smith, and Rosemary Morgan published a study titled ‘Covid-19: los impactos del brote en el género’. The three scientists agree that there is a “differential vulnerability to infection between men and women”, not just due to biological reasons, but because of gender roles and expectations. For this reason, they call on governments to include women in decision-making groups that design emergency health response protocols, as this will enable “the development of fair and equal intervention policies”.
Beyond the impact of care work on health, women also face maternal mortality. The WHO estimates that every day, 830 women die worldwide about 2 every minute from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, 99% of these cases occur in developing countries.
Reducing these maternal mortality figures is one of the reasons why May 28 is celebrated as the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. This day aims to reaffirm that health is a fundamental human right to which women must have access without restrictions or inequality. For now, that goal remains unmet, and continued advocacy is necessary to ensure safe and free abortion worldwide, along with comprehensive, free sexual and reproductive health services.
Reference links:
Research published in The Lancet titled ‘Covid-19: los impactos del brote en el género’ por Clare Wenham, Julia Smith y Rosemary Morgan https://web.archive.org/web/20230406031009/https://www.thelancet.com/
journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30526-2/fulltext
Report Los cuidados y la salud de las mujeres by the Andalusian Institute for Women https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodelamujer/files/ACCIONPORLASALUD/
Three quarters of unpaid care work falls on women, according to Oxfam Intermón.
For the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This shows that achieving full health requires more than just biological balance. Over time, factors like culture, religion, place of birth, and socioeconomic status have also proven to affect well-being. Gender plays a role too, as women due to established gender roles are more likely to take on care responsibilities, which increases the risk of health deterioration. This is confirmed by the study “Care and Women’s Health” conducted by the Andalusian Institute for Women (IAM).
The same report points out that in Spain “three out of every four caregivers” are women, and they are primarily responsible for daily life activities such as helping with eating, dressing, or personal hygiene. This has “direct consequences” on their health: they report more pain, discomfort, chronic illnesses, and mental health issues because they have less time for physical activity, rest, or a proper diet.
The situation worsens when the person being cared for goes through a viral illness. Spending long hours providing care, administering medication, or preparing meals means that many mothers end up saying things like: “my child had a slight fever this week, and now I’m sick too.” An Oxfam Intermón study refers to the concept of “opportunity cost,” as many women miss out on opportunities for personal or professional development due to leaving their jobs or taking extended leave.
All this work and health-related exposure is by no means “remunerated”, nor has it historically been “equated” with work done in a factory or office. Despite this, the economic value of this care work, carried out mostly at home, could “triple” what the tech industry generates “globally”, according to an analysis published by Oxfam Intermón. The same report estimates that domestic work worldwide would be worth 10.8 trillion dollars per year. In Spain, sociologist Marta Domínguez published a report noting that unpaid care work would account for nearly 40% of GDP, exceeding 425 billion euros.
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to various health professionals, helped put the “model of society” on the table. With schools closed, many women were asking “who will take care of my children if I have to keep working?”, while others working in the health sector were afraid of “infecting the people they care for outside the hospital”.
In Spain, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that in 2019 there were around 316,094 registered nursing professionals, of whom 84.2% were women 266,020 in total. These figures show, once again, that it was women who most risked their health, highlighting the need to analyse health crises through a gender lens.
With this in mind, researchers Clare Wenham, Julia Smith, and Rosemary Morgan published a study titled ‘Covid-19: los impactos del brote en el género’. The three scientists agree that there is a “differential vulnerability to infection between men and women”, not just due to biological reasons, but because of gender roles and expectations. For this reason, they call on governments to include women in decision-making groups that design emergency health response protocols, as this will enable “the development of fair and equal intervention policies”.
Beyond the impact of care work on health, women also face maternal mortality. The WHO estimates that every day, 830 women die worldwide about 2 every minute from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, 99% of these cases occur in developing countries.
Reducing these maternal mortality figures is one of the reasons why May 28 is celebrated as the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. This day aims to reaffirm that health is a fundamental human right to which women must have access without restrictions or inequality. For now, that goal remains unmet, and continued advocacy is necessary to ensure safe and free abortion worldwide, along with comprehensive, free sexual and reproductive health services.
Reference links:
Research published in The Lancet titled ‘Covid-19: los impactos del brote en el género’ por Clare Wenham, Julia Smith y Rosemary Morgan https://web.archive.org/web/
journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30526-2/fulltext
Report Los cuidados y la salud de las mujeres by the Andalusian Institute for Women https://www.juntadeandalucia.
