Last Sunday, the first phase of the National High School Exam (ENEM) was administered, covering language, humanities, and essay writing. In this first year of the Lula 3 government, the exam was blatantly biased and ideological, exposing the harsh reality of education in Brazil. The essay topic was “Challenges in addressing the invisibility of care work performed by women in Brazil,” an important subject that clearly indicates the type of solution the examiners expect from students: inefficient state laws to protect women.
In this context, care work refers to all the assistance and support traditionally provided by women to others, whether children, parents, people with disabilities, and so on—with a focus also on domestic work, which inherently involves caring for the home. From the topic, it is understood that this work is invisible, which constitutes a problem requiring a solution. At this point, what I suggest in this text is a reflection on the aspects of this care work and how we can address the potential problems that may arise from it.
The implicit proposal of the topic is that women have a double work shift: the paid work from which they earn their income, and the care work at home and with the family. As a result, women are exhausted, have no time for themselves, and are always prioritizing the care of others over their self-care. It doesn’t take much to identify that this is the reality for many women: just join a conversation with friends, mothers, at church, or at work. There will always be a woman starting a heartfelt discussion about her exhaustion in trying to “juggle everything.”
Drawing a parallel with the issue of wage inequality between men and women, it’s interesting to analyze the studies of Claudia Goldin, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics. One of Goldin’s conclusions is that women spend more time on family and children—especially during pregnancy, when they need to pause their careers—and on household responsibilities. This delay in their careers and work shifts results in them statistically earning less. Of course, this is just the analysis of one indicator, and the complexity of the topic requires the examination of several other factors. But it does prove that care work is indeed very real in a woman’s life, especially after the birth of the first child.
Care work undoubtedly affects women’s careers. But how can we address this problem, given the diverse family and social contexts? There are women who can be supported not only in their caregiving duties but also financially by a partner or family members, which can mitigate these consequences. However, there are also women who are single mothers, who have alcoholic partners, or who live under low socioeconomic conditions. How can these women be supported? The ENEM examiners expect young people to propose state intervention, but I don’t agree that the coercive hand of the state is the answer to this.
This reality, first and foremost, occurs within the private sphere—and the best scenario is when, within this sphere, partners decide among themselves how to divide tasks. Many women choose to pause their careers to fulfill the role of mother when they have financial support to do so, while others don’t have that choice or simply choose not to give up their careers. On the other hand, if we observe a pattern of women being exhausted due to the double work shift, we need to understand that the issue is cultural and needs to be discussed. Therefore, no state law will be as effective as family education derived from culture. Domestic tasks are a result of maintaining the basic needs of human beings. Therefore, men need to be equally encouraged and taught to be proactive at home.
Another solution I see, which is already making a difference in women’s lives, is market innovation and the modernization of work relationships. Claudia Goldin concluded that the invention of the contraceptive pill played a fundamental role in the development of women’s careers, allowing them to focus on their education and specialization before deciding to have children. Goldin’s studies show that the percentage of women in higher education increased from 10% in 1970 to 36% in 1980. Additionally, she also concluded that flexible work is a good remedy, helping women better manage their time and encouraging men to participate more actively in care work.
The topic proposed by ENEM is indeed extremely complex. Claudia Goldin herself has spent decades conducting brilliant studies on gender-related issues. These studies are essential for understanding the roots of the problems and finding solutions that, above all, uphold women’s freedom. And this is something the left does very poorly. That’s why I’m concerned about how the grading of essays will be done if they present cultural and private solutions instead of proposing that the state point its coercive finger to solve problems it is incapable of resolving.