Caregiving or unpaid care work has often been taken for granted. To some extent, there is now a growing recognition of its value, as seen in initiatives like setting up EPF accounts for homemakers. However, with Malaysia becoming an ageing society, unpaid care work is increasingly carried out by older people for other older people, and by young people for their parents or grandparents. In the case of the latter, this group is referred to as the "sandwich generation.” The sandwich generation refers to young or middle-aged adults who care for both their aging parents and their own children.
We recognise that women are often expected to shoulder the burden of caregiving and unpaid care work while also managing full-time jobs. This raises important questions: how do they find time to care for themselves, and what are the long-term impacts on their well-being?
In this episode of GOSSIP, we invited Lee Min Hui, Senior Analyst in the Social Policy and National Integration Division at the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS).
While discussing the importance of valuing unpaid care work, Lee Min Hui shared a notable insight: “If the unpaid care work produced in Malaysian homes every day could be valued in GDP figures, it would create about RM379 billion in 2022 alone.” This leaves us with a new perspective on how profitable the industry of care work could be.
Want to learn more about unpaid care work?
Tune in to this episode to find out what we discussed.
*NOTE: Views presented by the speakers are their own personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of KRYSS Network, or the organizations or institutions they are affiliated with.
