Women’s groups raise awareness of unpaid labour
Article published: Wednesday, March 7th 2012
Campaigners in Manchester joined together last Monday morning to create a public washing line of messages to raise awareness of the unpaid and undervalued work carried out by women every day.
The washing line, displayed outside the Friends Meeting House in Manchester was made by members of women’s community group The Pankhurst Centre and Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST). The artwork was created to draw attention to the pressures that women from all backgrounds are forced to cope with by balancing family, housework, caring and paid work commitments.
Organised by Oxfam, the event was timed to coincide with this Thursday’s upcoming International Women’s Day. The messages, sewn onto the clothing and pegged on the line, included “women’s unpaid work is crucial to healthy societies” and “I’m woman, mum, nana, lover, sister, cook, cleaner, nurse, friend, I am me.”
Claire, a member of the Pankhurst Centre, described the kind of work carried out by the women who come to the centre. She explained how one woman is responsible for the care of her sister’s children after her sister passed away and another visits friends in hospital despite being ill herself.
“Women are expected to look after the children, do the housework and have meals on the table at the end of the working day as well as having a full-time job of their own,” said Claire.
Members of WAST, the Pankhurst Centre, and Green outside the Friends Meeting House
A common driver of poverty for women is having to put family and childcare commitments before those of paid work. The cost of childcare in the UK is among the most expensive in Europe, drastically reducing women’s choices to go out and work.
Commenting on this, UK Oxfam gender co-ordinator Sophie Fosker pointed out how “women do two thirds of the world’s work, yet they only earn 10 per cent of the world’s income.
Hawani Rovole, from WAST, said “women carry a lot of responsibilities that push them into poverty, they have to look after their children first – men should share these responsibilities with women”.
Also in attendance at the Friends Meeting House was Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston and shadow spokesperson for Women and Equality, who said she was “delighted to celebrate the hidden contribution of women’s work that makes the world go round”.
Later this week, Green said she would be taking part in a parliamentary debate over women’s safety, at risk due to the closure of refuges and withdrawal of support services for women.
Many face the axe due to cuts, with the Manchester Evening News reporting just last week that Marillic House, a homelessness unit for vulnerable mothers, would close following withdrawal of grant funding.
Sam Cordon
More: Cuts, Manchester, News, Welfare
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