Women do twice as much unpaid care and housework as men, study finds

The vast majority of paid care workers in Ireland (80%) are women and this work is often characterised by low-paid and precarious work.

Women do twice as much unpaid care and housework as men, a new study on gender and economic inequality has found.

The report published ahead of referendums on care and the women's place in the home, also reveals that the vast majority of paid care workers in Ireland (80%) are women and this work is often characterised by low-paid and precarious work.

The report, published by ActionAid and the National Women's Council (NWC), calls for a public childcare model and better-paid family leave to support parents.

It also recommends the rollout of a universal pension and a statutory home support scheme to ensure disabled and older people are supported and encouraged to live independently in their own homes and communities.

These measures would support women who carry out significantly more care work, both paid and unpaid, which remains largely invisible, undervalued, and unmeasured.

Karol Balfe, CEO of ActionAid Ireland, said that in practical terms, this leads to economic inequality and poverty for many women, a wide gender pay gap, and an even wider gender pension gap for women in older age.

“This is fundamentally about gender equality. Without supports, such as adequate public services, many women who care or avail of care are isolated and marginalised — with particular groups of women including lone parents, migrants, Traveller, disabled and older women at increased risk in Ireland.”

A key recommendation of the report is that the Government recognise care as a human right and support the establishment and implementation of new indicators of economic and social well-being, curtailing over-reliance on GDP as a measure of economic activity.

It also calls on the Government to tackle, "as a matter of immediate urgency", the issue of one-parent family homelessness and child poverty through the establishment of a dedicated task force.

Aging population

A global aging population means that by 2030, it is estimated that 2.3 billion people worldwide will be in need of care, 200 million more than in 2015.

Ms Balfe said the issue is compounded by the increasing privatisation of care and underfunding of public services.

"This lack of investment has a triple disadvantage for women, who disproportionally lose access to services, opportunities for decent work, and take on the rising responsibility of unpaid care work.”

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWC, said the report could not have come at a more opportune time ahead of two referendums in March that will provide citizens will have an opportunity to go out and vote on care and update our constitution to recognise the importance of family care.

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She said: “Voting 'Yes' will send a strong message about the society we want to have, where everyone who provides care receives proper support and recognition. It will acknowledge that care should not only be provided by women but should be shared equally within our homes, by the State and broader society."

Ms O'Connor said care work is the cornerstone of our economy and wider society and the report provides a clear roadmap for how the state can properly value and invest in our care system through enhanced services and supports.