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Alternate Title

The Foundational Care Crisis

Keywords

care, crisis, caregivers, diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, systemic, academia, business, ethics, law, marginalized, employment, women, school, child, children, mother, social, workplace

Abstract

This article examines the care crisis as the systemic issue that it is—starting from my personal story—because my story is the story of many women—and many caregivers. Teaching business law and ethics to undergraduates, I often encounter a primary question: what is the role of social issues in a business course? Sometimes students struggle with this initial hurdle of understanding why we study diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the workplace. Why—for example—would we focus on lack of family leave as a primary barrier a successful business. The second question is—of course—what can we do? Social and societal issues are business issues. They form the lens by which we view everything else. The care crisis is a foundational barrier to any meaningful systemic breakthrough. As to what we can do? What we must do? We must build a community that will support women, caregivers, and other historically marginalized groups—at every step. No longer can we profess to value diversity while ignoring the systems that hinder its ability to flourish. In the midst of a pandemic, we have the opportunity—and the responsibility—to make and sustain meaningful change.

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