Tomorrow is Father’s Day, and as a soon-to-be father, I’m reflecting on the fact that fatherhood carries significant influence — a role traditionally associated with decision-making and resource allocation – and little expectation of caregiving, which is often dismissed as mere ‘women’s work.’
It’s a profound devaluing of the importance of care and the reality that caregiving is a shared human responsibility, transcending traditional gender roles. Honestly, caring for my family is one of the things I’m looking forward to most as a father!
So, this Father’s Day, I want to ask for your support – whether you’re a father or not – to challenge the outdated laws and cultural norms that undermine the value of care, and to champion a society that appreciates and respects the vital role caregivers play.
As the Digital Organizing Director at NDWA, I see every day how powerful prejudices hold domestic workers back from achieving the dignity, respect, and rights they deserve.
The idea that care is ‘women’s work’ has been used by men to justify outrageous discrimination, such as not paying nannies, housecleaners, and home care workers minimum wages, overtime pay, or providing paid sick leave.
It also means that women shoulder a disproportionate burden of unpaid care and are overrepresented in care jobs because of gender stereotypes and social norms. Globally, women perform 76.2 percent of total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men! For example, during the pandemic women did an additional 512 billion hours of unpaid care work at home.
So today, I hope you will join us in celebrating a broader, more inclusive understanding of fatherhood — one that champions equality and recognizes the essential role we all play in fostering a caring society.
Happy Father’s Day and thanks for all you do!
Malachi Cereghino
Digital Organizing Director
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Thank you for being a dedicated supporter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance!
We're working day and night to win respect, recognition, and labor rights and protections for the more than 2.5 million nannies, house cleaners, and homecare workers.
The majority of domestic workers sit at the center of some of our nation’s most decisive issues because of who they are and what they do: they are women – mostly women of color, immigrants, mothers, and low-wage workers. They are impacted by almost every policy affecting the future of our economy, democracy and country.
Domestic workers can lead us toward a new, inclusive vision for the future for all of us -- and your grassroots support is the fuel that can get us there.
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