Let's tackle 'careism' and give workers the respect they deserve | Ann Gallagher
The word “careism” was originally coined in relation to discrimination against young people in care. It is time to re-appropriate the term to refer to negative and devaluing attitudes directed at social care and those who work in the sector. Careism is endemic, both in and beyond social care services.
Social care workers are diverse in terms of culture and race, but they are mostly female and working class. There is a view that anyone can deliver care (particularly if you’re a woman). This group of workers is in a unique position to experience the quadruple-whammy of sexism, racism, classism and careism.
The media contributes to careism by focusing on care scandals and bad news stories. As one care worker said to me recently: “Why do we never hear about the good stuff?”
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Careism is evident a three levels. At an individual level, care recipients and families can be unappreciative of, and even disrespectful towards, care workers. A care worker told us she once overheard a care home visitor say: “These people are only working here because they can’t get a job anywhere else.” Another told us that some care recipients “treat us like slaves”. Care workers themselves collude with careism when they say “I am just a care worker”.
At an organisational level, care workers are not adequately rewarded for the work they do. It is not uncommon, for example, for care workers to be on zero-hours contracts.
And at a political and societal level, there is little attention to the value of care work and the need for investment. A commitment to a “living wage” in the autumn statement was welcome, but the lack of extra funding for social care, as the King’s Fund comments, makes “an already fragile market even more unstable”. Passing the buck back to local authorities and onto council tax suggests that central government values much else before care. The lack of investment suggests a devaluation of elder care, stemming from an attitude that undermines the efforts of many care workers who go the extra mile to make a positive difference to the lives of our most vulnerable, frail and often lonely citizens.
Accepting disrespect towards care workers, minimal pay and relentless media vilification is colluding with careism.
So why does any of this matter? Demographic changes mean there are fewer young people to provide care to a growing number of older people with complex care needs. Responding ethically to these needs requires a high level of knowledge and skill, and the development of ethical competence in care workers. Through research, universities have an important role to play in challenging careism by making visible the significance of care work and the profound difference it makes to older people, families and communities.
Universities should also work with the social care sector to develop innovative education to sustain ethical practice. Our recent Ripe (Researching Interventions to Promote Ethics in social care) project is an example of practical and innovative education research; see our summary and film here.
Universities can tackle careism using a multi-disciplinary lens: ethics to describe and prescribe the “shoulds” and “oughts” of care, politics to challenge social inequalities in care, psychology to illuminate factors that either promote or undermine ethical care cultures, and education that values the wisdom of care workers, enabling them to learn from each other.
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We all can – and should – cite examples of exemplary care and draw attention to what works at individual, organisational and societal levels. Accepting disrespect towards care workers, minimal rewards for their work and the relentless vilification of care giving is colluding with careism.
Let’s listen to the voices of care workers, recipients and families, make visible the complexity and privilege of care, and lobby for a better future so the work will appeal to our brightest and best. People must recognise that care is the work that best demonstrates our commitment to people’s dignity when at their most vulnerable. It’s the work that makes the most profound difference. It is also the work that many of us hope to benefit from in the future.
Ann Gallagher is professor of ethics and care at the International Care Ethics Observatory, University of Surrey.
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