Care in a time of Covid

The working mums of lockdown have had to juggle everything. They’ve had enough.

“The personal is political”, goes the feminist catchphrase. For one particular group of people—working mums—shutdown has made that very clear. 

If women have been fortunate enough to keep their jobs in what’s been dubbed the “pink-collar recession”, they’ve also more likely been the ones juggling working from home while also home-schooling and parenting children.

That’s also on top of any housework that needs doing—and, before COVID, Australian women already did roughly double the amount as men. Shutdown has mirrored these trends, according to a study of family life in lockdown from the University of Melbourne.

In this episode of Life & Faith, we speak to Devi Abraham, a Melbourne-based writer, podcaster, and mum to two boys. She tells us what it’s like to go back into lockdown to fight COVID’s second wave, and how she is approaching it differently this time.

We also hear from Natalie Ray, a mum and Christian minister in Sydney’s leafy north-west. She reflects on the ways that work often relies upon the flexibility of women to manage their schedules amidst the demands of family life.

Being a minister, Natalie also has a few thoughts on why Christians, of all people, should value care. Hint: it’s got something to do with Jesus.

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Read:

Professor Lyn Craig on how little we value ‘women’s work’

Annabel Crabb on how Covid-19 has left women anxious and overworked 

George Megalogenis on the “pink-collar recession”

Watch:

Annabel Crabb in conversation with George Megalogenis about her book The Wife Drought at The Wheeler Centre

Connect:

Contact Devi through her website, or through Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter