The Motherload Project levels up – includes fathers’ voices to effect change

The Motherload Project has levelled up. Its success sprouted a new phase, which will bolster new thinking and innovative ideas on how to lighten the motherload, give prominence to the voices of South African mothers and recognise their extraordinary contribution to their families and society. Phase two will include the perspectives of a valuable figure in the family: the father.

Spearheaded by Professor Ameeta Jaga in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) School of Management Studies, the project is committed to addressing complex social changes through transdisciplinary collaboration between academia, government and civil society. Phase one (funded by the UCT Grand Challenges pilot grant) premiered as an exhibition in November 2023. Using photovoice as a decolonial research approach to amplify the voices of low-income women in Cape Town, it foregrounded how they experienced the motherload – the highly gendered, often invisible, under-valued work individuals who perform mothering undertake. This work hinders their economic security, safety and well-being.

“What we have learnt is that mothers’ care work is mostly invisible and unpaid. Low-income mothers face numerous challenges that involve difficulties in accessing an income, securing nutritious food, maintaining a safe home, and accessing quality child and healthcare. These challenges are compounded by poverty, failing infrastructures, lack of support, and judgment from society,” Professor Jaga said.

“At the end of phase one, the mothers noted the absence of father’ voices and their involvement with care.”

The project created a powerful platform for low-income mothers to advocate for change, and challenge policy makers to address systemic issues that impact them and their families. Their photographs, art and discussions revealed a nuanced and often overlooked care burden that emerged from their precarious lived experiences and from a lack of support from their partners and children’s fathers.

“At the end of phase one, the mothers noted the absence of fathers’ voices and their involvement with care. And involving them in the next phase was one of their calls to action: to have fathers help with lightening the motherload.”

Encouraging fathers to think about the motherload

Phase two was developed in no time. This leg of the project is carried out in partnership with the School of Hard Knocks – a non-profit sport-for-development organisation that aims to tackle trauma and improve emotional well-being. And it’s made possible through a generous grant from the International Development Research Centre’s The Scaling Care Innovations in Africa initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.

Using participatory action research, including photovoice and other art-based methodologies, researchers encourage fathers to recognise and think critically about the motherload and what it means. Step one was for fathers to think about their own mothers and the roles they played in the family. During these conversations, fathers reflected on their childhoods and identified the various forms of visible and invisible labour (emotional, physical, mental) that their mothers were constantly called on to perform, despite difficult contexts. The men considered it a difficult and deeply personal process that required them to build a deep level of trust with other participants.

“Researchers are using their reflections to help the fathers develop ideas on how to lighten the load for mothers.”

Some male participants who grew up during apartheid reported that the legacies of the time continue to shape their experiences as black men. They acknowledged the demands that rested squarely on their mothers’ shoulders and gave insight into how their mothers handled it – with love and care but also exhaustion and desperation.

“As the men’s appreciation and understanding of the burden – and joys – of care increase, and as they continue to share their lived experiences, The Motherload researchers are using their reflections to help the fathers develop ideas on how to lighten the load for mothers, work with their non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners to build these insights into their programmes to equitably distribute unpaid care work, and inform the Western Cape Government’s (a project partner) efforts with creating a care economy,” Jaga said.

A different view

While the work remains ongoing, Jaga said the fathers have already adopted a different view of the motherload and the role of women who care for their children. Since participating in the project, she said, their understanding of mothers’ responsibilities and the effect it has on women’s economic security and well-being has shifted – they’ve become more sensitive to the motherload.

To date, Jaga said, a list of interesting insights emerged from this work, but one stands out: mothers aspire to have jobs of their own, learn new skills and earn an income. Yet, the jobs available are mostly low paid. It doesn’t allow them to work and take care of their families, and because of a lack of funds, they are unable afford quality care for their children. And the ripple effects of a poorly paid job are debt because the cost of transport and childcare often exceeds what mothers would earn.

But by creating job opportunities that consider unpaid care work, and that pay a living wage, Jaga said mothers can become economically empowered and have a better quality of life. And creating communities that care to support their needs can alleviate the motherload. But more is required. She said care work is a lot more complex when services are not properly integrated. Therefore, it’s important to destigmatise mental health issues and create networks where mothers can learn skills while providing care for their children. Reducing judgment about how mothers are mothering, and enabling fathers to take on more care work can ease the motherload.

“Each role player will have something meaningful to contribute, as we work together to recognise the complexities that come with the motherload.”

Sadly, the project has showed that nurturing communities of care is not automatic. They need to be constructed and supported. Creating these types of communities and coming up with other tangible solutions to support mothers is everyone’s responsibility. Jaga advised that all role players, including policy makers, NGOs, civil society and academia put heads together to effect the kind of changes mothers need.

“It’s our collective responsibility. Each role player will have something meaningful to contribute, as we work together to recognise the complexities that come with the motherload, come up with solutions to ease it and, by doing so, improve mothers’ financial security, safety, and overall well-being,” Jaga said.

The next steps in the project involve hosting roundtable discussions to share research findings with policy makers and to work alongside stakeholders to raise the profile of the motherload to ensure it becomes publicly visible.