Equality In Care-Work

Equality means fairness and justice in the health and social care sector. This means that everyone is entitled to equal access to any service when needed and that they should get the high –quality care they deserve, no matter where they live or how they live their lives. The equality- being equal, especially in rights, statues or opportunities, all individuals should be treated equally and there are laws in place to ensure that this happens. The equality Act gives NHS and all other health care sector the opportunity to work towards eliminating discrimination and reducing inequalities in care. For example, working under health and social care, we are expected to treat service users equally regardless their age, sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, culture beliers or sexual orientation. It would be unfair and classed a discrimination to treat certain patients/clients differently to others. It goes both ways for the patients and professionals, it would also be unfair and classed as

It seems that women workers have reached a plateau in society. In order for women to be respected (as men are) in the workplace there needs to be a redistribution of domestic and family work. It’s acceptable now for women to work; but this acceptance into the workforce has not drastically changed what they, women, are expected to perform at home. There is no way for women to move forward to equality in pay if they are not recognized as contributers to their job (i.e. women are still expected to perform outside of work in the family setting as well in a way that men are only expected to perform at work and not at home).

It is key to acknowledge the advancements the current paid parental leave policy has for woman’s equality in the workplace. The Australian government pursued these policy changes to move towards gender equity through provisions for work/life balance while also working towards increased workplace participation and maintainable economic growth (Australian Government, 2009). In comparison internationally the Australian Scheme falls significantly short towards breaking ground on the promotion of gender equality, which can be linked to several key areas where Australian policy development is lacking. Researchers agree that several developments need to occur for movement towards gender equality within the area of paid parental leave policy to successfully develop policies, which encourage and support fathers in the caregiving roll. Two key factors include the introduction of non-transferable leave for fathers and the increase of paid parental leave payments to reduce the financial burden on families (Broomhill & Sharp,

Since women’s acceptance in the labour market the typical Australian family being ‘male breadwinner’ have been replaced by ‘dual income’ families where one partner works full-time while the other works part-time (Chesters 2011). As a result, there was an adjustment in the division of domestic labour where it became more equal as couples divide their time between paid and unpaid work (Chesters 2013). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2009) gender roles in housework became more flexible whilst women participate in paid employment. Men would spend more time doing ‘core female’ domestic activities such as cooking and laundry and less time on outdoor activities such as home maintenance and lawn mowing (ABS 2009). In addition, men take on a greater role with regard to childcare where they spend more of their care time on play activities, these activities are normally done the same time as other activities (ABS 2009). However, some research has found that the ‘more dependent husbands are on their wives for income the less housework’ they would do in order to protect their masculinity (Baxter, Hewitt & Western 2009). Although there is hardly any difference in time spend on household work between full-time and part-time employed men it is is evident unemployed men spend only between 4 and 5 hours more doing housework as

It is important to remember that no two human beings are the same, we are all individuals with their own unique set of characteristics, personalities, interests, life experiences and abilities. People who will need care often grouped together because of the needs they have in common.

Women are generally responsible for caregiving (children and elders), volunteer activities, domestic duties, and social reproduction at an average rate of 2:1 (50 hours per week) compared with men (25 hours per week), regardless of how much paid work they are committed to (Milan, Keown, & Urquijo, 2015). Men are freer to pursue paid opportunities (and investments in human capital) and women are restricted by unpaid obligations, which perpetuates inequity. Some solutions to gain equity include social welfare reform programs, universal/affordable dependents’ care programs, and the shift of unpaid duties to men, as sociologist Nancy Fraser (1997) theorizes in After the Family Wage: A Postindustrial Thought

Maternity leave policies have a significant impact on family roles, postpartum maternal health, and child development. According to Vahration (2009), mothers taking unpaid maternity leave are enforcing traditional gender roles within the family in order to compensate for their husband’s high earnings. Therefore, perpetuating discrimination in the work place by encouraging women, rather than men, to leave and take care of their children.

Women are known to be the nurturing part of human nature. It is women who birth and generally care for the young of human kind; however, the roles of women have progressed to be so much more in today’s society. Now women are looked to not only as a homemaker, but a breadwinner as well. In many families, the women provide a major source of income and are responsible for the wellbeing of the family. “More than a quarter century has passed since Arlie Hochschild’s The Second Shift powerfully made the case that women cannot compete fairly with men when they are doing two jobs and men are doing only one.” (Moravcsik). He goes on to say that women’s roles have shifted to being able to balance a job and a family at one time. Despite the many jobs that

Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.

In health and social care Equality, Diversity and Rights are essential to healthcare environment to ensure everyone is prune to having rights and being treated equally no matter their race or sex also to be respected and accepted. Diversity is Privacy, respect, dignity, promote choice/preference, empowerment duty of care, safety guarding. Diversity in health and social care is seen as a very broad concept, embracing, for example, culture, belief, disability, gender and race and ethnicity, as well including overlooked and marginalized populations. As health and social care professionals they must respect the differences between people …healthcare professionals will deal with very diverse client base and so they must be very understanding. Every service user has the right to be respected, to be treated as of equal importance, and to have access to the same standard of care as everyone else.

The term EQUALITY means: Equality refers to the rights of different groups to have a similar social position in society and receive the same treatment. Equality refers to fairness in society it means everyone has the same rights regardless of their individual differences. Individuals are not treated differently due to characteristics such as race gender religion belief sexual orientation or age. Equality means that everyone has the right to participate and should be given the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

What is Equality? According to The Equal Rights Trust (2008) it is “…the right of all human beings to be equal in dignity, be treated with respect and consideration and to participate on an equal basis with others in any area of economic, social, political, cultural or civil life.” (p.1). The major principle of equality as mentioned by The Equal Rights Trust (2008) is accommodation “Accommodation means the necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments, including anticipatory measures, to facilitate the ability of every individual to participate in any area of economic, social, political, cultural or civil life on an equal basis with others.” (p. 7). It follows that equality is based on the principle of accommodation that tries to

The present struggle for women in Western societies to manage the double burden of paid and unpaid work has many economic disadvantages. On average women employed fulltime find themselves completing 14.3 hours of housework per week, whereas their male counterparts complete only 6 hours of housework per week . As women are unfairly burdened with domestic responsibilities they often miss out on senior positions. Crab highlights that in 2014 women represented “60 per cent of graduates,” however occupied only “10 per cent of executive positions. And only 2 to 3 per cent of CEO positions.” If women become mothers they are further economically disadvantaged as they resign from their job all together or need to find flexible work, statistically retiring with less superannuation than men . These social structures disadvantage women’s finances and Australia’s economic growth. Pru Goward, former sex

Motherhood might cost women more money than what it takes to raise a child. The gender pay gap has been an issue from centuries ago that still lives in modern day work places. The issue is heard from all around the world in different countries where working women are experiencing this unfairness. From the country of the free to the across the pond women have experienced lower pay rates than their male counterparts. Specifically, after they have returned from maternity leave. Two verbal claims from The New York Times and The Guardian suggest this is a valid argument. Claire Cain Miller correspondent for The New York Times and Katie Allen reporter for The Guardian come from distinct backgrounds, but both researched and agree that working women who become mothers have a reduced salary than new fathers. Miller and Allen both lay claim to the gender pay gap as an economic issue.

The release of the 2002 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Report amplified the public and political pressure placed on the government to implement a national scheme (Baird & Murray, 2014). A change in government at the 2001 election brought with it the strong conservative pragmatist approach of The Coalition government under the leadership of John Howard (Sawer, 1997). Policy changes made under the government during this time placed emphasis on women’s fertility and motherhood rather than their contribution and importance within the labour market (Baird, 2005). Resulting from political pressure felt from paid leave advocates from both political and public spheres, the conservative government introduced the Baby bonus in 2002 to appease their constituents while maintaining their opposition to the introduction of a paid parental leave scheme. This demonstrates the government compromising to maintain a balance between the government’s ideology and public and political support. The baby bonus supplied a small monetary bonus upon the birth of a child and was available, controversially, to both working and non-working women (Baird, 2005). The government’s implementation of various policies during their time in office showed ambivalence or possibly divides within the government surrounding whether women were to be supported as housewives or as wage earners (Brennan, 2007) with the baby bonus placing emphasis on a women’s role as a carer rather than a contributor to the economy (Hill, 2006). Changes in family policies can be linked to demographic trends, especially when birth rates and women’s workforce participation rose, resulting in increased demand on policy makers to alter policies to provide support and alleviate pressures felt by families (Gauthier,