Part 1
Chinese Communist Party Chairman, Mao Zedong once stated that “Women hold up half the sky.” This quote, which brought attention to the equal role played by women in the cultural revolution, has gained global recognition due to its inherent truth. The relevance of this is particularly recognised in women’s contributions towards the global economy through unpaid labour, without which the waged economy would be severely impacted. Unpaid care work is indispensable to the economy and the well-being of society but is primarily undertaken by women. While largely voluntary, care work occurs within the framework of poor public service, cultural beliefs surrounding the role of women in the home, and forces within the labour market itself. For women who are waged workers, the burden of care work contributes towards immense time poverty, impacting their ability to effectively grow or manage their participation in waged labour. For unwaged workers, care work can be all-encompassing, keeping them mired in poverty, and perpetuating gendered effects brought about by the colonization of work. This is particularly true for rural and Indigenous women who practise subsistence agriculture.
