Day of Invisible Work: « Let’s make it visible! »

Things change. No more than 50-70 years ago, being a good mother meant to stay with your children at home, look after them, help your husband – the breadwinner – to live a peaceful life after a hard day’s work: ladies were supposed to be the « angels of the house », caring for the family.

Today if you say you are a housewife you certainly get as a comment: « Oh, so you don’t work! » And this is not only a sexist remark, good for ladies alone. Unpaid work is held in very low esteem in our society, at home and outside.

There is no sign of home caring work in GDP anywhere in Europe, although recently GDP includes prostitution and drug trade, and no sign either of the silent work of volunteers that take care of the poor, the ill, the refugees, those that help our children practice sports, or help sustaining the environment and the treasures of art in our countries. Still, if it is unpaid, if it is done just because you care, if it is invisible – it seems not to exist. And it can be ignored by the politics, by social security and administration.

In order to make the caring work of millions of people visible and appreciated, an initiative was started in Canada and then brought to Europe by FEFAF, the European Federation of Parents and Carers at Home, to celebrate the first Tuesday of April as the International Day of Invisible Work.

Source: Text: elfac   Image: bimcal.com