Caring During COVID-19: A Study of Intersectionality and Inequities in the Care Economy in 16 Countries
Carers were disproportionately harmed in the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite facing an increased risk of contracting the virus, they continued in frontline roles in care services and acted as "shock absorbers" for their families and communities. In this article, we apply an intersectional lens to examine care work and the structural factors disadvantaging carers during COVID-19 through a comparative case study analysis of 16 low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Data on each country was collected through a qualitative framework during 2021-2022. We found that while carers everywhere were predominantly women with low incomes and precarious employment, other factors were at play in shaping their experiences. Moreover, government responses to mitigate the direct impact of the pandemic have created local and global disparities affecting those working in this sector. Our findings reveal how oppressive social structures such as race, class, caste, and migration status converged in contextually specific ways to shape the gendered nature of care within and between different countries. We call for a better understanding of the multiple axes of inequalities experienced by carers to inform crisis mitigations, coupled with long-term strategies to address social inequities in the care economy and to promote gender equality.
Authors
- Lauren Paremoer
- Matheus Zuliane Falcão (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7208-9943)
- Carlos Álvarez‐Dardet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3530-7451)
- Martin McKee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0121-9683)
- Joanne Flavel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3228-7192)
- Connie Musolino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3269-8883)
- Camila Giugliani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2652-5214)
- Chunhuei Chi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9203-5352)
- Hani Serag (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0014-2685)
- Leslie London (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1297-2758)
- Fran Baum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2294-1368)
- Viroj Tangcharoensathien (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3235-0091)
- Huong Thanh Nguyen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9493-9590)
- Sulakshana Nandi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4366-4566)
- Jennie Popay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9234-908X)
- T. Sundararaman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5689-4299)
- Toby Freeman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8580)
- Sun Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2478-3391)
- Wim De Ceukelaire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7187-144X)
- Philippa Howden‐Chapman
- Hailay Abrha Gesesew
- Eugenio Villar
Institutions
- University of Alicante (ES)
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
- Oregon State University (US)
- Ministry of Public Health (TH)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (PE)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Médecins du Monde (BE)
- Center for Global Health (US)
- Torrens University Australia (AU)
- Texas Medical Board (US)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (ES)
- The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (US)
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
- Hanoi University (VN)
- Lancaster University (GB)
- Mekelle University (ET)
- University of Otago (NZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services
- Published
- 2024-08-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/27551938241269198
- Primary Topic
- Employment and Welfare Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00