Name: Caregiving is real work — let's treat it that way
Uploaded: 2023-10-24T15:04:15Z
Duration: 5 min 10 s
Description: Every day, people around the world spend 16 billion hours on unpaid care work — cooking for families, caring for children and older relatives and other routine household tasks — often in addition to other jobs. Employment advocate Sharmi Surianarain says we need to not only acknowledge this labor but also build supportive workplaces that put policies with care work top of mind.

Sharmi Surianarain: Caregiving is real work — let's treat it that way

Caregiving is real work — let's treat it that way

Every day, people around the world spend 16 billion hours on unpaid care work — cooking for families, caring for children and older relatives and other routine household tasks — often in addition to other jobs. Employment advocate Sharmi Surianarain says we need to not only acknowledge this labor but also build supportive workplaces that put policies with care work top of mind.

Unpaid care work totals 16 billion hours each day worldwide, mostly done by women and often invisible in society and the workplace. These essential tasks, from child-rearing to eldercare, make all other work possible yet rarely receive recognition or support. The pandemic doubled this burden for working parents and exposed how deeply care work shapes daily life. Embracing and valuing caregiving can transform workplaces, economies, and the lives of millions.