News Headlines: November 18, 2021

Sojourner Truth Radio

Today on Sojourner Truth: We focus on the inter-relationship between caregiving and environmental protection. Family unwaged caregivers " most of whom are women, including mothers and grandmothers, and the most impoverished women on welfare " provide care for relatives, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Caregivers are expected to pick up the slack without any acknowledgement of the value or resources for their work. The International Labor Office has estimated that women do two-thirds of the worlds work for five percent of the income. And according to a report released by Oxfam in January 2020, women around the world perform 12.5 billion hours of unpaid labor every day. Overall, the work of unwaged caregivers has been estimated to contribute at least $11 trillion to the global economy, according to a Human Development Report. Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples who are protecting the forests and natural farmers around the world are showing the way amid the ongoing climate crisis. Many of them are unwaged caregivers, who are providing both for people and the environment. They point out that in order to address the main cause of the climate crisis, we must transform our relationship with the natural world, beginning with agriculture. The interaction of soil, water and sun generates the water cycle on which the climate and all life depend. This forms part of the broader soil regeneration movement, which can help to reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity " resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. Imagine a world where unwaged caregivers would be compensated for regenerating our soul and protecting our planet, instead of money going to governments and corporations. During todays show, we bring you audio from a recent webinar hosted by the Global Women's Strike, titled Care Income for People and Planet: Why Our Future Lies in the Soil. The webinars speakers help us better understand the interconnections between the movement for the rights of unwaged caregivers, and the need to protect our environment through progressive new methods, such as soil regeneration. We hear from speakers around the world, who comment on the need to unite both movements.