Care economy should be a state investment

Care economy in Indonesia is often seen as a responsibility, not part of work. Even paid forms of care, such as domestic work, are often considered work that does not have a significant impact. How do we understand that care work is also work that is important for economic growth and societal development?

Gender stereotypes position care work as a responsibility for women and this social construction has thrived in Indonesia for a long time. I see an urgency to dismantle the issue of care work being hampered by gender stereotypes. We need to make gradual and constant efforts to dismantle this stereotype: that care work is genderless and the care work is valuable.

We need to ask urgent questions to demonstrate the urgency of care work, such as what if care activities are not carried out? Maintenance work is often seen as easy and worthless, even though if this work is not done it will cause imbalance. UN Women's research results show that women do 10 years more care work than men who only do 4 years throughout their lives.

We can demonstrate the importance of the value of care work by calculating how much it would cost if this work is transferred to domestic workers. The burden of care work that often falls on women's shoulders can be distributed to partners, family members and domestic workers. However, this mindset regarding the importance of redistribution requires the involvement of the state. One of the crucial policies in this redistribution issue is the paid paternity leave policy to encourage recognition and appreciation for the care work carried out by men.

In addition, trends show that 79 percent of men in Indonesia are starting to be aware and concerned about the role of care. However, we cannot deny that the policy vacuum in supporting the redistribution of care work is encouraging more women to decide to leave the workforce when they have children. Based on Bappenas’ research results, there is a decline in work participation of women aged between 25-30 years who have children under 5 years of age. Again, women are in a dilemma between their professional career and caring responsibility.

Government commitment by investing through policy is needed to change the face of care work. Women who work in the informal sector are often faced with risky situations when they need maternity leave. Therefore, policies related to maternity and paternity leave are not only intended for formal workers, but also informal ones. Due to this urgency, the ILO supports the government through the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection in developing a Road Map on Care Economy.

As a transformative step to redistribute women’s burden of care giving, the ILO introduced the 5R principles. What can be done to implement this principle in care work?

We need to involve all parties to promote the 5R framework. I see the linkage between issues of gender equality with economic issues. However, it is still a challenge to recognize care work as productive work with economic value. When care work becomes part of an economic issue, that is when it will become a collective issue and not just a women's issue. The care economy is how we value issues related to gender equality as a shared issue. We must also try to find a middle way and recognize the struggle on gender equality as not only the struggle of women, but of men and the country as well—this is the framework we must have. Thus, investing in care economy is also investing in the country's economy.

Implementing the 5R framework requires the role of the media, society – especially men – and the state. Popular media channels need to present the 5R issue from a simple perspective and include recognition of men who have played a role in care work. Media that already has a strong perspective needs to be linked to an economic framework so that this is a shared struggle.

On the other hand, government must be supported to invest in care. The general public must be introduced to this issue through daily examples. The method can be linked to parenting and the quality of the husband-wife relationship in sharing roles. Perspectives must be parallel and various parties, especially men, must be involved. Trade unions must also fight to voice this care issue based on a priority scale.

The ILO encourages and provides technical assistance to countries to meet minimum standards, especially to lay the foundation for 5R in the field of employment and promote ILO Convention No. 156 concerning Workers with Family Responsibilities. This can provide an understanding that work and family responsibilities are equally important and mutually contribute positively to workers’ productivity and well-being. For this reason, it is important for the government to encourage employment regulations that support the balance of workers' roles with family responsibilities.

Based on your work in supporting the use of the ILO 5R principles in the field of employment, what are the obstacles, challenges and good practices that civil society organizations can emulate and continue?

These existing obstacles and challenges are due to an old issue with a new framework. We need to teach recognition of care work which is then followed by changing the way of thinking about its division so that we can say that nursing work has no gender. We must gradually explain and dismantle gender-biased ways of thinking. From recognition, we then introduce reduction that there needs to be a division of care work and not burden it entirely on women. The public can see that care work is very broad, covering care for babies and the elderly.

The 5R principles are a new way, analysis and perspective in promoting gender equality. The Ministry of Manpower and civil society organizations need to increase capacity to promote gender equality using this new perspective. The care economy provides the framework for content that remains focused on gender equality. All parties need to be involved in changing this perspective. We are trying to relate how redistribution is not only focused on women and men but requires contributions from the state and companies through maternity leave, paternity leave, and the right to breastfeed. Of course, without the risk of losing your salary. Companies can also collaborate with childcare centres to make childcare more affordable in terms of distance and cost.

What are your hopes regarding the redistribution of care work in Indonesia towards economic development with a gender perspective?

By recognizing tasks of care, we also recognize the importance of care policies and services. These policies encourage all entities from government, companies, unions, local governments to village governments to contribute. My hope is that all entities invest according to their capacity while indicating recognition and appreciation for care work. If the country invests in care services, it will create new jobs and the economy will turn around.

I hope the government actualizes its commitment considering that the Indonesian government has encouraged 20 of the G-20 member countries to promote the care economy. Indonesia should be an example by passing the Domestic Workers Bill, passing the Maternal and Child Welfare Bill, and investing in policies related to child care for children aged 0-2 years who are not yet accessible and can be enjoyed by both male and female workers with family responsibilities at all economic levels.

Workers who work in care services also receive recognition and can achieve decent work, especially workers in the care sector are dominated by female workers. This can support women's work participation rate. Apart from that, in the future social protection, maternity and paternity leave need to be included as part of the benefits of BPJS Employment.