I grew up knowing what care looked like.
It wasn’t dramatic or loud. It was my mother gently helping my grandmother through long, forgetful nights. It was the nurse who came home tired but still found energy to ask how others were doing. It was the unpaid labor of love I saw in homes, schools, and hospitals — the kind that never made the news but held everything together.
This is the care economy — the vast, mostly invisible network of people (mostly women) who care for children, the elderly, the sick, and the vulnerable. Some are paid far too little. Many are unpaid entirely. But all of them do the work that makes every other kind of work possible.
Why We Must Respect Caregivers
Care work is not “just” emotional labor — it’s real, skilled, essential work. It takes patience, strength, and a level of empathy many don’t realize until they’ve had to give it.
We should respect caregivers because:
* They sustain lives, not just routines.
* Most of their work is unpaid, unrecognized, and gendered.
* Even paid caregivers are under-supported and undervalued.
* Their work isn’t easy — it’s physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding.
* One day, we’ll all need a caregiver, or become one ourselves.
I’ve never needed to be “taught” this truth — I’ve lived it, felt it, witnessed it.
What Respect Looks Like
It’s more than saying “thank you.” It’s:
* Paying caregivers fairly and advocating for policy change.
* Sharing the load at home — care isn’t a woman’s duty.
* Giving caregivers time, rest, and dignity.
* Seeing their work as essential, not optional.
A Final Thought
Empathy isn’t theory. It’s action. And caregivers are living proof of that every single day. We need to stop romanticizing their sacrifice and start valuing their contribution — loudly, fairly, and permanently.
Because care is not soft.
It’s strong.
And those who give it deserve to be seen.