School closures: Thousands of women have just had their double shift doubled

[Carefulvulvadriver]

What should the feminist response to the above be? Yes yes, of course fathers should do their share of the home school and childcare, but we know many dont and wont, and that still leaves a problem for single mothers like me.
This afternoon the government has announced that 100s of primary schools across the country will not reopen as planned in January. I suspect many more will be added to the list over the next week or so.
We know that will leave 1000s of women once again having to juggle work, childcare and home school. They will feel the stress and hit to their mental health of trying to do that. They will miss out on promotions, pay rises and opportunities as a result. They will have to cancel study plans. Many will work until 3am each morning as the only chance they will have to work will be after the kids have gone to bed. And as ever, it will be the poorest women who will be the worst hit, as will their kids. Some men will suffer from this too, but it will disproportionately hit women.

How should feminists respond? Surely this IS a feminist issue - it's about how social policy and our economic way of life has not been designed with women in mind. The woman stuff - the looking after children and educating them - is somehow to be tagged on as an after thought; the work and time to be magic-ed out of thin air, as it's only the man stuff that counts or is important.

In my view we should be demanding paid parenting leave, funded by the government. I think we should also be putting pressure on the government to confirm it will run "catch up" schools in the summer holidays for the kids who have missed out on education (there will be a problem getting the staffing, although I wonder if TAs might be available as I know that in some cases they are on zero hour contracts and so not paid in the holidays).

What else? Any one got any ideas? And what if we dont get it? Will we just do what so many of us did back in spring (me included) and just suck it up? I love my job, I'm lucky that it's really fulfilling, but isnt it time we refused to do the impossible?

Fuck knows but I’m all ears. I’m in Scotland and everything is fucking shut. I’m going to have to work with a toddler and I’m 6 months pregnant.

Thankfully my husband is great and does his share but I’m still dreading it.

I have no idea about a real, long term solution to women either loosing their jobs, or missing out on promotions etc. We are close to having lost 50 years of progress for women.

But paid patenting leave should be an absolute minimum in the short term.

What about the women working in schools, going home, doing their wife work and having a greater risk of passing covid onto their loved ones? Nobody gives a shit about teachers, the vast majority of whom are women.

This isn’t a feminist issue for me as I’ll work and my DH will take time off or go on furlough for childcare...I’m the breadwinner so makes sense he takes the hit.

For the rest of the women, I can’t believe this is much of a issue as most the women I know are not with men who think nothing of their wives. Around here we all need to people to work to pay the mortgage. Most people take the hit from the one who is lowest paid. About 4 men and 7 women, so it’s not even, but every situation is obviously different.

(I don’t think women of this ‘new’ generation settle for men who don’t lift a finger.)

“Need two people to work to pay the mortgage” that should say.

@Bluewavescrashing I couldn’t have been clearer that I was not against closing schools. This isn’t about whether that is right or wrong (I happen to think closing them is right).
It’s about how we now make this work for women and therefore also for kids. Shutting schools is the given. It’s what happens next I’m talking about.

Whilst you may not see the problem, The last lockdowns analysis showed that women tended to get hit more with the additional labour

Another example of choices made predominantly by men that negatively affect women most

I cannot believe this has been landed with such a short timescale, again. This has been in the pipeline for weeks but rather than giving (predominantly female) parents time to prepare, they've landed it with days to go.

Not just a feminist issue, but also a complete disregard for parents in general and teachers who need to switch things around. Could not be more obvious these policies are being enacted by people without caring responsibilities.

Institute of Fiscal Studies survey during lockdown 1, May 2020:

“Mothers are more likely than fathers to have left paid work since February.
Among mothers and fathers who are still in paid work, mothers have seen a bigger proportional reduction in hours of work than fathers.
Among those doing paid work at home, mothers are more likely than fathers to be spending their work hours simultaneously trying to care for children.”

www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14861

Isn’t the problem that parenting is devalued by society (because it is seen as women’s work) hence the insane idea that you can effectively parent young children at the same time (& space!) as effectively work?

Yes, it all gets weird when parents are being told to parent, homeschool young children and work at the same time. Men rely so much on women's unpaid work, yet they don't see it. Or don't want to, as the work is self limiting and boring. They have no problems with women doing it though...carrying the can.

I've expressed my feelings at length on other threads about what this means for single parents and low income families.

Really bored of the "please think of the poor teachers" argument. Not because I disagree with it at all - I actually completely agree. With the figures the way they are, especially for London, schools probably need to close.

But I'm fed up of parents being unable to discuss the practical effects of school closures without being called selfish arseholes. There's nothing selfish about being worried about how you're going to work and pay the mortgage while simultaneously caring for and educating your kids.

[quote Carefulvulvadriver]Institute of Fiscal Studies survey during lockdown 1, May 2020:

“Mothers are more likely than fathers to have left paid work since February.
Among mothers and fathers who are still in paid work, mothers have seen a bigger proportional reduction in hours of work than fathers.
Among those doing paid work at home, mothers are more likely than fathers to be spending their work hours simultaneously trying to care for children.”

www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14861[/quote]
We know that this disproportionately affects women. The short notice shows how little they've considered the impact on women's lives. I fully agree that paid parental leave should be a given. A reminder that you can ask to be furloughed for childcare purposes. Pertinent thread from Sophie Walker on this:

twitter.com/sophierunning/status/1344346669396201477?s=21

Fuck knows but I’m all ears
Same here. This last minute shifting of the goalposts doesn’t work for women at all and female low pay is shafting women in this situation all over again. Employers seem less sympathetic now that it’s not only for a short defined time that women with caring responsibilities will have to work this way.

@Heartlantern2

This isn’t a feminist issue for me as I’ll work and my DH will take time off or go on furlough for childcare...I’m the breadwinner so makes sense he takes the hit.

For the rest of the women, I can’t believe this is much of a issue as most the women I know are not with men who think nothing of their wives. Around here we all need to people to work to pay the mortgage. Most people take the hit from the one who is lowest paid. About 4 men and 7 women, so it’s not even, but every situation is obviously different.

(I don’t think women of this ‘new’ generation settle for men who don’t lift a finger.)

This isn't 'men who think nothing of their wives', ffs.

This is people really struggling to cover childcare, and post children most women are the lower earner. By far.

So climb off your high horse, please, and have a bit of compassion for everyone facing a really shit and difficult new year.

Somthing not being an issue for you personally doesn't make it 'not a feminist issue'.

Isn't it because BoJo and co all went to boarding school and have absolutely no idea what it's like in the real world?! I am absolutely dreading it it nearly broke me last time

I think there needs to be a fundamental shift in what is expected of education in lock down. Schools should not be setting more than about 30 minutes per year level of work up to a max of 2 hours for primary kids. Home education is significantly different to school based education and there needs to be an adjustment to what is done.
I do think an educational allowence for primary careers is really worthwhile.

@DrJump

I think there needs to be a fundamental shift in what is expected of education in lock down. Schools should not be setting more than about 30 minutes per year level of work up to a max of 2 hours for primary kids. Home education is significantly different to school based education and there needs to be an adjustment to what is done. I do think an educational allowence for primary careers is really worthwhile.

Why?

I’d rather they had more to do than less.

I'm in a small team and the only woman.

The men have all said they have left their (working) wives to bear the brunt of the childcare.

After about 3 months they had a chat about how maybe they should do more.

I'm friends with one and he hasn't.

They expect to be able to shut themselves away to work while their wives do childcare food housework work etc etc

They're not horrible or anything. Just for many men deep down they don't feel it's their job.

But nothing will be done as it's generally accepted that children are the responsibility of the mother. And that women should step into the workforce when required and step back when not required.

As a single mum working at home the last lock down almost broke me.

I struggled with my 11 year old who has Aspergers trying to work full time at home and homeschool her.

It was absolutely dire for both of us.

My career has taken an impact as I've had to step back from my position at work. They talk about ultimate flexibility at my work (US tech giant) but they do not mean that at all.

I am dreading what is going to happen over the next few weeks.

This is a feminist issue, of course it is, the government don't give a shit about mums, single or married.

It's absolutely a feminist issue - the research is all there from the first lockdown. One thing we've got better at is evidence.

But in terms of what to do about it... I wish to fuck I knew. I think this has essentially pointed up that, no matter how woken-blokes/new man/equal partner (take your pick to suit your generation) men as a class say they are, when push comes to shove then gender roles rule. We need a women's strike till men step up and play their part. And we need amendments to legislation so that employers have to evidence they are spreading the burden equally through their workplace policies, though fuck knows how that would work in practice.

We need to change the default. We thought we had, but we haven't.

For example on the above, a friend's workplace has offered an extra 10 days holiday this year to 'anyone with caring responsibilities'. I didn't get the chance to talk to her properly about it but they should be recording the sex-based split of those who do and don't take it, and line managers should be encouraging men to take it. Otherwise it's just another two weeks that women are stepping back, and although there's no doubt that will be helpful for the individual women involved in terms of looking after DCs, it won't help their career.

I am absolutely dreading it it nearly broke me last time

Me too. Feel a bit sick about the whole thing.

TA here. I won't be working in the summer holidays thanks.
Teachers will catch children up in term time. There is plenty of padding that can be taken out of the teaching in order to fit in the stuff that needs to be caught up on. This current closure only affects a few primary schools. Secondary kids are old enough to be at home by themselves (vulnerable ones can go in to school) with only a few exceptions.
I have 3 children in GCSE years and two in primary. I am not worried about the primary ones as I know they have plenty of years left in education to catch up (and no they were not entitled to a key worker place as DH as as working from home). It's harder for my big ones but they are in same boat as kids across the world. At the end of the day they might get lower GCSE grades than would have otherwise happened but as long as they get high enough to go on to college/for job entrance it doesn't matter if they aren't all A* It won't stop them getting jobs - no one gets a job based on grades - it's on interview performance/references.