Care-friendly practices: 5 actions that companies can take today.

We are learning to live in a new context. Governments, industries, collaborators and employers, the elderly and children, schools, clubs were affected by the arrival of Covid-19.

For all / as there was a rethinking in the way of doing things. And, as is often the case in times of crisis, the responses had to be agile and urgent. We make decisions with the scant information available, based on other people's experiences from the other side of the world. New Zealand has implemented a 4-day workweek and Chile is considering implementing a teleworking law. The truth is that the mandatory social distancing, the closure of schools and care centers, left families alone in the resolution of care. In this context, the patterns of society in which women assume a greater participation in these tasks are being strengthened, the level of conflict between the demands of paid work and care grows.

What can companies do to encourage the equitable distribution of care tasks in the home?

We present you 5 actions that can be carried out for the current context. These are practices that can serve as a guide that address the different aspects of the complexity of care, take into account the intersectionality of gender in the task of caring, and consider the needs of the different groups that demand care: 1) Child Children under 4 years of age, 2) School-age children, 3) People over 60 years of age (as a population at risk of Covid-19), 4) Sick / disabled family members.

5 actions allied to care and co-responsibility:

1. Commit top management to care:

It is essential that senior management know what we are talking about when we talk about care and stewardship. Awareness-raising and training workshops in care economics are essential so that decision-makers are informed about the workload involved in these tasks. Likewise, they provide knowledge about the unequal distribution of domestic and care tasks negatively impacting the career development of women.

2.Promote the balance of tasks within the home:

Some of the measures that companies are implementing to promote balance in household chores are:

• Days with flexible hours: time slots are established for meetings and calls and fixed hours are not required every day. Many companies are also establishing time slots in which meetings are not scheduled (for example at lunchtime and after 5 pm).

• Agree on deliverables based on overload.

• Respect working hours and promote the right to digital disconnection.

3. Probe the care demands of the collaborators:

The care demands vary from home to home (single-parent / parental homes, children, dependents, etc.). Circulating a survey to probe the particular reality of each home and the times of those who care is key to better direct the conciliation package for people who care. Some of the measures that companies are taking in this regard are:

• Workshops / awareness raising, co-responsibility, care, masculinities and gender roles.

• Day off to relieve stress.

• Licenses that promote work-family conciliation.

• Family care leave.

• Accompany and support the emotional well-being of the collaborators from the company.

4. Promote support and proximity networks for the elderly:

Older people are particularly exposed in the context of a pandemic. For many caregivers, accompanying and emotionally supporting their family members is part of their day-to-day life. Some measures that companies can take to accompany their collaborators in their role as caregivers are:

• Collaborate with the digital connectivity of the elderly (for example, facilitating internet connection, devices, etc.).

• Contact with nearby organizations that can include older people in social work projects in a virtual way (cooking, knitting, teaching online, for example). This is a way for people to stay active, have a sense of belonging in society and have their social value recognized.

5. Return protocols with a gender perspective and representation of women in decision-making:

Including the interests and needs of women helps create more effective responses. Likewise, it is key to ensure that the gender perspective is included in response planning and return protocols. This involves addressing a few questions, such as: What are the different priorities of women, men, children in the context of the pandemic? What roles do women and men play in this context? Are there pre-existing gender inequalities that can be exacerbated by emergency measures? Do women and men have equal access and influence over decision-making? Is data disaggregated by sex being recorded and collected?

Investing in care is investing in productivity.

These are uncertain, difficult and critical moments. We know that the reality of each company is different and that the urgency of the moment does not allow the development of specific policies or budgetary investment. However, the invitation to rethink existing policies and reallocate their resources, adapting them to the current context. To ensure that these measures are effective, it is important that the actions are made official so that they are not subject to the criteria of each boss or to the link between him / her and the employee. Employees will remember this moment because of how the company accompanied them (or not). The challenge is to turn emergency measures into structural tools. Pandemic or no pandemic, investing in care is investing in productivity. About us: Sofía Keena: Gender and communication specialist. Founder of Consultora Cuidar. Mariana Massaccesi: Gender and business specialist. #careandcovid #familycoresponsibility #gender equality #gender policies