Page 41 - RASAS_2022_Abstract_Volume_07

RASAS 2022- 17

Caring Matters: The Impact of the Added Burden of Care Work
throughout the Pandemic on Sri Lankan Working Women

Nethmini D.S.S , T.D.M.G.L.M.D.De Silva , K.P.I.U Sewwandi 3
1
2
Department of Sociology, University of Ruhuna
1
sandunisachethana@gmail.com , maleeshadewdesilva@gmail.com ,
2
ishiniumeshika77@gmail.com 3

This study explores the impact of the increased burden of care work in the aftermath of
COVID-19 on women in the profession of Thelijjawila village in Matara Sri Lanka. The

carework is always identified as the woman's burden which is more often undervalued
and unappreciated, the invisible and emotional labour. The focus of this study is the

impact of the increased burden of carework on the lives of women in professions during
the COVID-19 pandemic. The key objective of the research is to identify the impact of
the added burden of caregiving on women in professions in Thelijjawila. This research

is a phenomenological case study using semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire.
The target group consisted of 25 individuals in various professions, a mixture of both
females and males. The thematic analysis was used for the analysis. The key findings

indicate that women are more likely to undergo long-term changes in their lives due to
the difficulties of balancing professional life with personal life, clashes of social roles,
increased stress and frustration having to manage all at once, battling with fear anxiety

uncertainty stigma specifically for the women in the health care sector, increased marital
conflicts and miscommunication, losing the sense of privacy, further the results show

that compared to men women were prone to choose families and leave the labour market
during the pandemic.

Keywords: Care burden, COVID-19, Family, Invisible labour, Women in professions

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