Addressing women’s unpaid care work: the impetus for social protection- an Ubuntu perspective

Abstract

The global normative framing of social work is based on the principles of social justice and equality. Social justice is also concerned about gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5), and one avenue for this is ensuring women’s human rights are protected. In the context of climate change and other global crises such as COVID-19, women are at the helm of bearing the worst brunt of these crises by providing unpaid care work. Preliminary forecasts show that unless there are drastic actions, we will be off the mark in attaining Goal 5 of the SDGs. This chapter interrogates how the social work profession can be used as a vehicle for advancing gender equality in the context of women’s unpaid care work. Drawing from intersectionality and feminist political theory, this article examines how various practices collude and are layered to discriminate against women, thus perpetuating gender inequality. It concludes by discussing the role of social protection in addressing unpaid care work using a feminist political theory and ubuntu perspective.