The cost of care: Covid-19 and women

Abstract

The coronavirus has shone a light into the deep inequalities in the foundation of the capitalist system. The establishment narrative that we are ‘in it together’ has been disproven repeatedly, as those who were already struggling the most have been forced to shoulder the economic and social repercussions of the pandemic. Elderly and immunocompromised people have been told to put their lives on hold to allow the government to ‘reopen’ the economy while the virus continues to run rampant. Low-paid, migrant workers in meat processing plants and care homes have been particularly vulnerable throughout the pandemic, with zero protections or rights to sick pay. Women have also been disproportionately affected. In particular, the shift to lockdown and the subsequent sporadic reopening of the economy witnessed over the past months has reframed the issue of women’s oppression.