With unpaid caregiving as the hidden engine of society, women bear the brunt of the burden.
If running a household while managing a career were an Olympic sport, I’d have a shelf full of gold medals. But it’s not, so instead, I’m rewarded with laundry, half-eaten lunches and a never-ending professional to-do list.
My days start at 5 a.m. I stumble out of bed and write for an hour before everyone else wakes up. At 6 a.m., I usher two sleepy kids through steamy showers, hustle them into clothes, then race to the bus.
The workday is a blur, fuelled by Maxwell House and punctuated by the bling of new emails. Before I know it, the kids are tumbling off the bus, hungry.
There’s homework, reading, and before long, dinner — thankfully prepared by their dad daily. The table is cleared, dishes are stacked, and I collapse onto the couch. Tomorrow, it all starts again.
There is labour that’s billed as a line item on an invoice, and then there’s the work that no one sees — except the kids, of course. They can’t afford your services, but you show up and do the work.
Care work is as demanding as any job. It’s a second shift that follows the demands of a paid workday, focused on meeting a stream of school and survival to-dos: Does everyone have their dictée words? Who needs clean socks for tomorrow? What bills are due? The time spent meeting life and family needs stretches mothers thin and often steals time from rest and reconnection.
Working mothers need real support, at work and at home, to both provide care and earn without the weight of an unequal load.
When workplaces offer flexibility, they empower mothers and fathers alike to share the responsibilities of caregiving without compromising their careers. Remote work options, adjusted hours, and family paid leave policies that extend to allow fathers to be more present at home challenge the idea that caregiving is primarily “women’s work.”
Fathers shouldn’t be expected at work while their partners heal from childbirth or nurture a newborn alone. While the mental load of moms juggling school schedules, medical appointments and playdates might make for a funny TikTok, the reality is no laughing matter.
Accommodating both parents not only creates stronger families, but also gives women the ability to grow their careers and be fully recognized for the work they do both within and outside of home.
The next time you see a parent juggling the load, acknowledge it — better yet, lighten it. Advocate for more equitable policies, offer real flexibility at work, carry her groceries.
Arron Neal is a communications strategist, writer and mother of two exploring the intersection of work, parenting and culture.