Intersecting inequalities of gender and care under COVID-19

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THE INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH
An intersectional approach is designed to understand the common ground of the many aspects of humans’ social and political interactions. It is used to analyze how the relationship between people work by incorporating the various forms of discrimination and privilege (Shields 2008:301-302). This paper aims to critically analyze the intersectionality between gender and factors such as class, race, indigeneity, immigrant status, disability, and work age. Moreover, the author shall associate the intersectionality of these concepts with the crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gender and Class
The beginning of industrialization divided families based on social standing, and the responsibilities became delegated based on gendered spheres. The majority of employers belong to the upper-class, while most of the employees belong to the lower-middle-class. Because the industrialization period created a hostile environment, most employees sought comfort in domestic labor where servant-keeping became a highlight. During this period, “domestic help” was abruptly femininized because housework is marked as a woman’s sphere. Hence, the majority of the domestic helpers, if not all, are female (Arat-Koc 2014: 431).
The importance of social classes was also emphasized during the industrialization period. The master-servant relationship became widely separated, where the servant became at the lowermost portion of the society’s ladder. Two factors have contributed to this phenomenon. First, the increase in privatization of the family, where the servants are branded as strangers, and second, reduced the bourgeois mistresses against the domestic workers, thereby removing their responsibility to manual work (Arat-Koc 2014: 431).
Gender, Race, and Indigeneity
The relationship between gender and indigeneity is almost exclusive to women. In Canada, indigenous women are often subjected to domestic labor; most of them are displaced to serve in the fur trade during the 18th to 19th centuries. This practice continued in the Canadian North in the 20th century. Moreover, indigenous women served as the bridge between the native tongue and the investors because they serve as interpreters. Additionally, indigenous women provided vital food in Canada’s food industry, such as pemmican, rice, maple sugar, fish, small game, and berries. They also created clothing, snowshoes, and moccasins. Therefore, the service of indigenous women in the industry was extremely significant. Without the indigenous women’s help, these industries would have failed (McCallum 2014: 22).
Gender and Immigrant Status
A reduction in the demand due to the domestic workers’ oversupply has been observed in Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is especially true for live-in jobs. Due to this, the Department of Immigration has promulgated a new regulation after the war to bring the domestic workers to Canada to maintain their domestic helpers’ status. The act aided in importing domestic workers from the Caribbean region to Canada in 1955. The following are the criteria to be hired for the new rule: 1) Single woman in good health; 2) between 18 to 40 years old; 3) No dependants, and 4) Finished at least until Grade 8. These women were permitted to enter Canada as immigrants because they need to serve as domestic helpers for at least a year before searching for other jobs. The downside here is that once the immigrant disobeyed or was found to be bypassing the law, she will be deported back to her country (Arat Koc 2014: 438).
Gender, Disability, and Work Age
Researchers discuss Susan’s story, an employee who aged with a disability, and Helen, an employee who succumbed to disability (Oldfield and Hansen 2020:131). The Westerns give utmost importance to cognitive competence. Thus, undervaluing and disregarding those with cognitive impairments, like Susan and Helen. Generally, this is secondary to the perception of failed medical intervention, thereby portraying the disabled as those who frequently need care and can never be independent (Oldfield and Hansen 2020: 132). Due to these circumstances, the activists have advocated for people with disabilities and used “gendered” social change to empower women or men who have been discriminated against continuously in the workplace. These actions aided the disabled women to continue working while battling an offset society, whether physically or mentally.
Unpaid Work.
Although changes have been observed in the current era, many women are still abused, and most of their abilities remain undervalued. This can be proven by statistics. The types of unpaid work are mainly under housework or the instrumental activities of daily living, including cleaning the house, laundry, and ironing, doing outdoor chores, gardening, cooking, animal care, shopping, and paying bills.
There are many types of unpaid work, and the majority of it, if not all, are delegated to women due to the perception that women are fragile and must be confined to housework. In the U.S., the majority of work is delivered by women, while men only contribute a few. Moreover, in 2015, women spent 54 minutes in household work versus men each day (Week 2: Gendered Unpaid Labor n.d.: 1).
Many, if not all, of the unpaid work, is solely dedicated to housework. This is a significant factor that leads to devaluing women’s capacity, even when doing all...