How do you think this sounds to women everywhere: Universal basic income for every citizen to eradicate gender and racial gaps in wages. A minimum wage for single mothers of $25/hour. Free publicly funded child care for essential workers, including caregivers and nurse’s assistants.
The group that is going boldly in that direction is a Commission on the Status Of Women in the state of Hawaii. Prompted by the economic devastation that CoVid-19 is leaving behind in their state, the commission put forth an economic recovery plan that addresses gender inequalities in the established system (TruthOut, 5/26/2020: “Hawaii Considers an Explicitly Feminist Plan for CoVid-Era Economic Recovery”).
The virus made it plain that women lost the most jobs and job security. Women bore the brunt of child care and home schooling. Women did the most emergency medical care. Women, who represent over 75% of the teaching workforce, had to master remote learning strategies overnight, and teach from home while home schooling their own children and caring for their families.
The intersections among poverty, racism, social programs, health care, women’s issues, and economic recovery became more obvious than ever during the pandemic. Hawaii’s commission took all of the voices that have been on the margins – I’m working two jobs to make ends meet! I can’t work without child care! I’ve got my own family to care for and I’m caregiving two elderly parents! I can’t afford maternity care! I’m undocumented! – and brought them into the center of a proposal for Hawaii’s economic recovery.
The marginalized voices are the same everywhere, and they are predominantly women everywhere. They are the immigrants cleaning buildings and homes. How can we stop the spread of new deadly viruses if we ignore those voices? They are the nurse’s aides who care for elders in nursing homes, and the nurses who work 24/7 during emergencies. How can we label them essential workers if they do not have care for their children? They are the minimum wage workers who prepare our food and serve our meals and stock our groceries and clerk in our shops. Economic recovery depends on paying attention to the issues faced by every marginalized worker re-entering the workforce.
Hawaii’s plan says that there will be no economic recovery if we attempt to go back to the way things were. The way things were made the health crisis infinitely worse. The recovery phase of this pandemic is an opportunity to restructure society along more equitable lines. By restructuring, the state will also be managing any future health crises with a great deal of wisdom and infrastructure support.
The plan has gone to Hawaii’s legislature, as representatives discuss how to implement a state-wide process of recovery. In the meantime, other states would do well to follow the lead of Hawaii’s Sate Commission on the Status of Women.
