Fresh focus is needed on the role of women’s unpaid work

By Sophia Papastavrou

The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has shown that by strengthening women’s meaningful participation in peace talks, transforming decision-making power, and bridging local conflict analysis with global efforts will hold space for women to lead and champion peace talks.

The United Nation’s adopted Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000 and 21 years on, it continues to provide a platform for the importance of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and their equal participation and full involvement in peace talks.

The Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks has revealed that since the adoption of the resolution, there has been a substantial increase in the frequency of gender responsive language in peace agreements and the number of women, women’s groups and gender experts who serve as official negotiators, mediators, or signatories.

While the Women, Peace and Security agenda focuses on enabling women’s participation in peacebuilding processes there is little attention given to the impact of unpaid care work that affects women as caregivers and providers both during and after conflict. Oxfam defines care work as central to human and social wellbeing. It includes looking after children, the elderly and family members living with disabilities, as well as daily domestic work.

Numerous studies have shown that women are still often pushed into unpaid care work in the household due to social and harmful gender norms. Research has shown that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in the household even further. UN Women’s Covid-19 response suggests that women’s increased exposure to the virus is due to their high levels of engagement in both paid and unpaid care work, the surge in domestic violence and already fragile health systems being overwhelmed are driving home the gender-differentiated impacts of the pandemic. Gender analyses carried out during the pandemic show that women are experiencing increased levels of anxiety depression and chronic fatigue. Especially when women are taking on a disproportionate burden of parenting and caring for children and the elderly.

If indeed global commitments on feminist foreign development policies and UN resolutions are to move beyond the rhetoric, unpaid care work must be central to what and how women’s participation in peace processes looks like. Unpaid care provision in peacebuilding would help to put in place strategies that would sustain a lasting peace. This opens possibilities to address – particularly in the pandemic – the disproportionately higher level of unpaid care work women provide, and how it impacts them. Thus, practical recommendations are made that peace should be built in a manner that respects the principles of unpaid care work. Asking ourselves where the women in peace building efforts are becomes redundant when we know that women are the main providers of unpaid care work.

Women’s mediators’ networks play a key role in responding to unpaid care work and the cultural expectations of women’s social positions and responsibilities. For example, in Cyprus, the lack of accessible and inclusive education systems means that primary childcare continues from mothers to grandmothers. Outsourcing of paid domestic labour is dependent on a fragile and exploitative system that relies solely on women migrant workers. Mediators’ networks have an opportunity to hold and create the space for women’s pragmatic approaches to peacebuilding. Mediators championing women in peace building as the key driver of resilience and sustainable recovery is key. A focus on unpaid care work would then ensure greater sustainability of social security systems in peace settlements and conflict resolution.

The contribution of unpaid care work and its relationship in women’s participation in peacebuilding and why women are needed in peacebuilding processes requires its due diligence in national and international peace frameworks. Further still how will space be made for women if in fact they make up the majority of unpaid care work?

Peace and security programming that supports unpaid care work is vital for women and girls to participate in building peaceful communities, economic recovery and prevention of gender-based violence. The full realisation of Security Council resolution 1325 cannot be achieved without putting unpaid care work at the forefront of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Sophia Papastavrou, PhD is a member of the Mediterranean Women’s Mediators Network and gender technical specialist with World Vision Canada