On May 1, actor and host Dingdong Dantes penned a tribute to his wife, Marian Rivera, for the admirable work she does in their home.
The dad of two shared rare snaps of the actress, who is known for donning signature outfits and jewelries worth hundreds of millions, barefaced and wearing pajamas, religiously packing goodies early in the holiday morning. Something that someone else could've done with pay.
Dingdong wrote, "Good morning to this incredible woman who runs our household. Despite it being a holiday today, I woke up a little later than usual and saw her downstairs, busy with something. As I made my way to the living room, I saw her packing goodie bags for our company party tonight!"
He then called on to recognize all the amazing homemakers, whom he said: "work tirelessly to make their homes a comfortable and loving place."
While many netizens were inspired by Dingdong's post, the reality is that it's not every day that homemakers are recognized for the invaluable work they carry out daily.
READ ALSO: Why I'm No Longer Embarrassed To Say My Dream Is To Be A Stay At Home Mom
Why honor homemakers and stay-at-home parents
Being a homemaker or oftentimes called a "stay-at-home mom" remains with a stigma that women are naturally chosen to give up their careers and be left to care for their kids at home.
Efforts to make meaningful and purposeful work such as this to be normalized and not frowned upon are being made, but there's a lot to be done.
For one, employment-focused social media platform LinkedIn included titles like "stay-at-home mom," "stay-at-home dad," and "stay-at-home parent," as job titles, especially for those who are seeking opportunities and staying at home.
LinkedIn cited studies that show hiring managers have bias against those who have been stay-at-home parents compared to those who were out of work for other reasons.
"With LinkedIn offering more inclusive job titles for parents, it has the possibility to disrupt the corporate world. Slowly but surely, we'll start seeing more respect for parents and the skills they can bring to the workforce," wrote Tracy Saunders, CEO of BossmakeHER.
READ ALSO: Chesca Kramer: 'My Ambition Is To Be A Committed Housewife'
Why we should prioritize women for the good of all
Meanwhile, UN Women through its goodwill ambassador Anne Hathaway spoke on about how society should start addressing cultural biases that automatically label care as women's work.
In her speech last November, she started by saying that women’s participation and equal power is fundamental to progress for everyone.
She then cited how the COVID-19 pandemic saw huge challenges for women, including loss of jobs and taking on most of the care work when everyone was ordered to stay home.
"Well, it is my regret to share with you that during the pandemic, women did an additional 512 billion hours of unpaid care work at home. While I let that statistic sink in, I would like to acknowledge the essential importance of care. Care is fundamental to the basic functioning of our economies and societies, and I’m not meaning to suggest otherwise," she said.
Anne continued, "Even before the pandemic women spent more than three times as many hours as men on unpaid care and domestic work."
"It was unfair then, it’s worse now. It's time to admit something is very, very off. Whether or not we mean to, the fact is, we are taking advantage of women. Simply put: we must stop penalizing women for caring. We must stop relying on women to “make it work” and instead proactively make possible, support, and fairly compensate care work," she emphasized.
READ ALSO: 'Okay Naman, Pero,' Moms Weigh In On Bill Seeking P2K Monthly Wage For SAHMs
She then calls on governments, businesses, and civil society to do their part in ensuring that women are at the "heart of economic growth and recovery." It includes lobbying for support care services, and prioritizing the creation of family-friendly workplaces. These include flexible working hours, paid parental leave, and in-house childcare facilities.
Anne concluded, "Prioritize women for the good of all."
Homemakers need help
In a previous Smart Parenting article, stay-at-home mom Kyzie Alonzo-Julom painted a picture of the mental health load of moms based on her experience.
"Now the homework of life is tedious and never-ending: paying bills, banking, shopping, paperwork, comparing services, switching to better deals, setting up insurance, managing your schedule, managing your family’s schedule, making medical appointments for you and your family."
The list goes on, "Organizing monthly and yearly car services, maintaining the house, loan contracts, monitoring plans that may expire yearly, every two years & so on, government regulations to comply means more forms to fill and fees to pay, yearly paperwork from school registration & enrollment, monitoring expenses on subscriptions like mobile plans, internet, streaming videos & streaming music."
She warned, "These things can cause stress due to mental load. And trying to remember all the things you need to get done takes an enormous amount of headspace," she said.
In any you can, help out a stay-at-home mom. They may be incredible and amazing, but they get tired too. More than recognition, they deserve a break.
Whether stay-at-home mom or working mom, we honor you. Check out how to join our Mother's Day contest here.
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