Across many cultures, caregiving is considered to be a feminine or motherly role. Women are usually seen as people who are more empathetic and caring. So, they are expected to care for the children, be supportive of their husbands, show support for other members of the family, plan meals, organize the home, be in charge of weddings, birthdays, and other events especially the hospitality aspect and so on.
Sadly, many people have taken this expectation to the workplace. There, the caregiving role is left for the woman too. Because she’s female, she’s generally expected to remember her coworkers’ birthdays, plan company trips, show support to other members of staff, take notes in meetings, and so on.
Many times, this workplace caregiving role is carried out in addition to her job description or work responsibilities. This means that she has to work twice as hard, both at work and in the home. This is one of the reasons why many women in the workplace tend to experience burnout frequently.
Unfortunately, many companies don’t usually appreciate these caregiving roles women are expected to offer. Hence, women are not compensated for the time they put into planning these events. These roles are also not put into consideration when looking to promote dedicated employees. As a result, there are less women in leadership and many women feel unseen, unappreciated, and undervalued at work.
To reduce this inequality, companies should think about how important these caregiving roles are to the success of their business. If taking notes, remembering employee birthdays, company trips, and having great events moves the company forward, then those who plan them should be rewarded. They should be paid for the extra work and these activities should be used as points for consideration in promotion.
Another great way to even things up is to assign caregiving tasks to men and women. Women shouldn’t be left to handle the brunt of the responsibilities alone. This would make more employees appreciate it, reduce burnout for women and give them more time to focus on their primary responsibilities.