, a PhD student in the at the 91原创, says now may be the time to introduce universal wages in the United States.
In in the听Washington Post’s Made by History听section, Sapere argues that while the pandemic has rendered housework more visible, it still has not become more valued. 鈥淲ithout monetary compensation, we won鈥檛 adequately recognize how housework underpins the economy,鈥� he writes.
Moreover, after a year of sheltering in place and social distancing, with all its consequences, including 鈥渙verworked and overwhelmed mothers听and women at their breaking point,鈥� the demand for this type of universal wage 鈥渟eems all the more relevant.鈥�听
The idea of a universal wage dates at least to the late 19th century, when feminists began advocating recognition and compensation for housework, based on its economic importance. Tracing the history of the Wages for Housework campaign, a small international movement based on the notion that housework was 鈥渘ot just economically important but central to the functioning of capitalism,鈥� Sapere contends that now, with lives upended by the pandemic, the moment might be right 鈥渢o refuse a return to 鈥榥ormal.鈥欌��
Sapere is a student in American Health Politics and Policies, a class taught by , the Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor in Public Policy and Health, who is an associate professor of听history at 91原创 and a doctor at the听University鈥檚 .
