FAIR PLAY: GENDER BALANCE AT HOME AND AT WORK

In 1969 the feminist author Carol Hanisch popularized the phrase "The Personal is Political”. and almost 50 years later Eve Rodsky received a text about blueberries. These seemingly unrelated facts lead the future author on a journey towards defending gender equality in the home and in society. Fair Play, the documentary based on Eve Rodsky’s book of the same name, is about much more than blueberries. It is about the invisible care work that women do everyday, at home and at work - an issue the TASC Platform and the International Gender Champions, with the support of the Innovation Foundation and the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Geneva explored during a screening of the documentary at the Geneva Graduate Institute on 7 December 2022.

We shared extracts of the screening and discussion in the International Gender Champions podcast below.

Invisible work, also known as unpaid care work or domestic work, refers to the tasks and responsibilities that are necessary for the maintenance and functioning of households and families, but are often not recognized or compensated in the same way as paid work. This can include tasks such as cooking, cleaning, childcare, and elderly care.

Care work affects every aspect of our life. According to Bathsheba Nell Crocker, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, who opened the discussion at the event, “It is akin to emotional labor. It is hidden throughout our homes and our workplaces, and although this work is foundational to the very functioning of society, far too often the true value and cost of care, work and emotional labor gets ignored.”

There are a number of reasons why invisible work is often not taken into account in government policy. Unlike paid work, which is often documented and tracked through wages or salaries, it is difficult to measure and quantify. This makes it challenging to accurately assess the value and contribution of invisible work to society.

Most perniciously, invisible work is often seen as the responsibility of individual households and families, rather than a collective responsibility of society. As a result, it may not be viewed as a priority for government policy and funding. According to speakers Jürg Lauber, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva, and Julia Imene-Chanduru, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations in Geneva, the cultural and social norms that assign certain tasks and responsibilities to particular genders can also play a role in perpetuating the invisibility of this work.

This divide has become even starker in a post-pandemic world that forced women out of the workforce and is not attracting them back at the same rate. Cynthia Hansen, Managing Director at the Innovation Foundation, made sure to highlight this to the event audience. This was the focus of a joint project between her foundation and the TASC Platform on Women Returning to Work: Busting the myths of flexibility and choice.

Despite beginning with a conversation about blueberries, the documentary shows us that these issues are not only systemic but also a result of institutional bias. Too often women are made to feel that gender balance is up to them or their families, when in reality there are many other factors at play. Through this screening and discussion, we hope to bring these themes to the forefront and further explore not only ways to raise awareness of the issue but also find concrete solutions.