My goal is to highlight what Catholic Social Teaching might add to this discussion on women and care giving within the family. Many of the points I am covering have been touched on in the Secretary General’s report as well as in some of the other reports but in some cases they need to be made more explicit.
My first point is the importance of human dignity. We need to emphasize that those who need care are as fully human as those who provide care. Frequently our societies send messages that if we need to be cared for by another we have less dignity. Yet needing care is part of the human condition. We all began life as vulnerable, helpless individuals who needed others to care for us. Many of us will need care as we approach the end of life. Some of us need care as we go through life and there are others who need care throughout their entire life. It is wrong, however, to think that depending on others detracts from our dignity. We all owe our survival and flourishing to others and it is only in acknowledging our dependencies that we can learn to become interdependent. Rather than fear dependency, we need to recognize that dependency is part of the human condition and we all, men and women, should be able to rely on receiving care when we need it and recognize our responsibility to provide care when it is needed by others. It is hard to recognize any activity that is more important than sustaining the life of another.
Frequently this lack of understanding of dependency comes from a denial of the bodily dimensions of our existence. More value is given to those activities that we do with our minds. Those who work closest with the body are usually the lowest paid and least valued members of society - that is until we need them to take care of us. For example, if we look at the medical system we see that those held in the highest esteem are the physicians (especially research physicians), next the registered nurses who oversee the units, then the licensed practical nurses who distribute the medications and take one’s vital signs, and at the bottom of the ladder are the certified nursing assistants, those who take care of the patient’s body. Not only is care devalued but the people who do caring labor are devalued as well.
Individuals who receive care are not only the receivers of the care givers’ gifts but they too have gifts, which they share with the care giver. The recent front page coverage in the NY Times of the death of the son of David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party in England, highlights this point. Mr. Cameron said: “He is a magical child with a magical smile that can make me feel like the happiest father in the world…We adore him in ways that you will never love anybody else, because we feel so protective.” This exemplifies how we live in solidarity with one another. If we do not recognize the full humanity and the equal dignity of those who need care, it becomes too easy to eliminate the burdens associated with care giving by eliminating those who need care.
Second Point – Care-giving activity is extremely important activity.
Daily caring of people for each other is a valued premise of human existence. If we do not recognize the importance, as well as the rewards, of this work it will always be assigned to those who have the least voice in a society. Rather than inviting people to do this labor, we too frequently encourage people to opt out of this labor. Often we fail to recognize the importance of this labor and that there are many individuals who find this labor fulfilling. This is not a false consciousness on their part or a romantic view of life but a proper reflection on the value of human life and the importance of meeting one’s basic needs. Because the market does not value this labor does not mean that it is not important. We need to revalue care labor.
Likewise, we need to recognize that this work develops certain dispositions and virtues in those who do this work – virtues that are necessary for the well-being of society, not just in the familial realm but in the public realm as well. The virtues associated with care giving help form a person’s character in such a way that they influence all of the decisions of that person. Many in Britain have formed a new opinion of Mr. Cameron because of the care and devotion he gave to his dying son. Mr. Cameron, a member of the Conservative Party, stated that he was committed to keeping the health service in public ownership because his family was so often in the care of the National Health Service.
Nevertheless, we need to recognize that care-giving labor demands tremendous amounts of time and energy. Especially in societies where success is measured in terms of technology, the routine low-tech labor of care giving can be easily overlooked. The skills, the knowledge, and the patience required to do this labor are frequently undervalued. Even when care-giving labor is part of the public realm, it is usually reimbursed at a low level and underappreciated.
We need to recognize that although all of us have an obligation to care for others we also need to be able to develop ourselves and participate in society. Too frequently caregivers are subsumed by their care-giving labor and have little energy or time to participate in other activity. We should also highlight the global connections of this activity. Frequently women from first-world countries have been able to lessen their care-giving activity by hiring women from third-world countries to do this work for them. In many cases, however, these women are leaving their own families behind and their children suffer. We need to recognize also that one-fifth of the world’s households are headed by single women.
The principle of subsidiarity states that the first responsibility in meeting human needs rests with free and competent individuals, then local groups. Higher and higher levels of community must assume responsibility when 1) lower units can’t assume it or 2) when lower units refuse to assume it. This principle can be helpful in dealing with care-giving labor. It recognizes that when someone needs care it is the responsibility of those closest to that person to provide that care. Should this provision of care become so overwhelming for family members, society has an obligation to assist. Care giving is a societal responsibility as well as a familial responsibility. Unfortunately, in many societies one needs to cede total care giving over to society in order to receive care. For example, in the United States it is much easier to get coverage if one puts one’s loved one in a nursing home than it is to get subsidized home care services.
Third point: In most cases it is not the care-giving activity that makes one vulnerable in society but the way that care-giving activity is organized by society. (Justice) Most of the written reports at CSW as well as the following presentations on this panel deal with this issue: how can we better organize society so that one group of persons, most notably women, does not carry most of the burdens of care giving? This is an issue of justice, specifically distributive justice, which states that the burdens and benefits of society must be distributed equally. Everyone needs to share in the burdens of care giving but everyone should also have a right to share in the joys of care giving. By excluding men, or men excluding themselves, from this participation means that there are parts of male personhood that are insufficiently developed. When care-giving activity is not organized justly, not only do women suffer because they are overly burdened, and men suffer because they miss out on the joys of care giving, but those who need care also suffer because they are receiving insufficient care. In many cases it is the voice of their care givers who need to be their voice but when one is overwhelmed in care giving there is little time left to publicly advocate for the needs of the one for whom one is providing care. The voice of the care receiver is frequently lost as well as the voice of the care giver. Hence, care giving policy is often either overlooked or developed without input from those who are most knowledgeable on the topic.
In conclusion – We need to recognize that those who need care are fully human and have equal dignity. Being dependent on another for care does not lessen one’s dignity. Care giving activity is important activity and providing this care is what we are all, male and female, called to do. In the process of providing this care we also develop virtues within ourselves that are important for our self-fulfillment as well as necessary for the betterment of society. The structures of society need to be better organized so that all can participate in this activity and so that all who need care can have that care provided in a caring and dignified manner. We also need to make sure that no one, especially women, is totally subsumed by this work.
