“Economies are built on the backs of women’s unpaid labor.” In this conversation, Anahita and Jesselina unpack the care economy through the lens of their South Asian upbringing and the women who shaped their world. They explore how homemakers, caretakers, and "working" women—often seen as opposing groups—all share one goal: for their work to be valued. For too long, the invisible, unpaid labor that sustains economies has been ignored and undervalued, trapping women in a false choice between work and care.Together, they confront this narrative, revealing that the invisibility of care is a loss for all.

(1:28) What Is the Care Economy?

(4:57) The Domestic Burden of Care and How to Break the Cycle

(6:51) Do Homemakers Even “Work”?

(10:21) Housewives by “Choice” and the Myth of Financial Independence

(15:16) Feminism Under Capitalism: Why Men Still Have It All

(17:25) Removing Gender Dynamics from the Division of Labor at Home

(23:19) Class Structures Within the Care Economy

(31:20) TradWife Influencers

(38:54) “Growing Up, I Never Knew a Relaxed Woman”

(43:36) Investing in the Care Economy, Not Just Spending