International Women’s Day: Who bears the burden of care – and for how long?

International Women’s Day is one of those days when women are discussed, analyzed and applauded. There are panels, statements and fine sentences about equality, poverty in old age and unpaid care work. And then it’s business as usual: In everyday life, in budgets, in structures.

However, the situation is no longer just a matter of justice, but a tough question of social stability. In the EU, the average pension of women over 65 is around a quarter lower than that of men – and Austria is one of the countries with the largest gaps. This is no coincidence, but the result of part-time work, interruptions and lower incomes – also because many women still work in professional fields such as health & social services, education, retail & sales and office work, which are socially indispensable but are not valued enough economically. Nevertheless, it should be noted here that women are now more likely to be in employment and more economically independent. And that has an impact – but more on that later.

This bundling in special sectors is not a special Austrian issue, but a permanent pattern in OECD countries, also emphasizes the OECD. Occupational and industry segregation remains a key driver of inequalities, and many women continue to work in so-called “pink-collar” sectors. And when women come home after work, the second part of the day is often waiting: Care and support work in the family. This too is still predominantly carried out by women.

The fact that women are more pessimistic about the future is therefore not a “mood”, but a symptom. A recent analysis by Allianz Research speaks of a clear “gender sentiment gap”: On average, women are noticeably more pessimistic than men – also because they experience more structural dependencies. They are more often dependent on third parties and social benefits. And it is precisely these systems, which are supposed to cushion the blow, that are currently coming under pressure themselves.

And this is where it gets uncomfortable: The care system we rely on is beginning to collapse – and after all, 85% of people in need of care are supported at home in Austria and Germany. The Caregiver Support Ratio – simplified: how many potential relatives are available for a very old person – will fall massively in the coming decades. The reasons are both banal and brutal: After the baby boomers, there are less populous generations coming up. And women’s lifelines are changing – slowly, but they are. And as already mentioned: Women are working more, are more economically independent and are going their own way. Companies also need this workforce, as the baby boomer generation is now retiring.

>> It is precisely at this point that social progress meets a reality organized according to old assumptions. <<

It is precisely at this point that social progress meets a reality organized according to old assumptions. The development of women is right and necessary. But it clashes with a system that is tacitly built on the assumption that “someone” is already providing care – and that “someone” is usually a woman. When roles change, the infrastructure has to change with them. Otherwise, we end up in a paradoxical situation: we celebrate equality – and continue to organize care through traditional expectations.

So when we talk about care and poverty in old age on International Women’s Day, please don’t just do it as a moral exercise. It is about teh bitter reality: We cannot secure the care of an ageing society with appeals for private sacrifice – especially not when the number of available relatives is falling. Those who ignore this are shifting the burden further onto those who are already carrying more of it.

Perhaps we should take more inspiration from the wonderful Eleanor Ambos, the protagonist in the film “A Life in Color.” A movie that poses the question of how we want to age – rating: Worth seeing. Us women should all act a little more like Eleanor: Don’t let yourself be squeezed into roles, don’t feel guilty about taking your life seriously. “To be nuts and not to feel guilty about it.” In a society that is still quicker to judge women, quicker to categorize them and quicker to push them into responsibility, this is not a provocation. It is self-protection.

International Women’s Day would be a good time to acknowledge this truth: Applause changes nothing. What counts are structures – in care, in working models and in relief. As long as we don’t tackle this consistently, March 8 will remain a ritual. And the price for this will be paid in everyday life – by women, by families and ultimately by all of us.