For millennia, women have been the backbone of families and communities, biologically wired to prioritize the needs of others. This selfless caregiving role ensured the survival of tribes and the flourishing of humanity throughout history- and we received just as much as we gave because we were in closer-knit communities that were more collectivist in nature. However, in today’s self-reliant, individualistic, and capitalistic society, these intrinsic strengths are being exploited, leaving women overworked, underpaid, undervalued, and isolated—and facing unprecedented levels of mental health struggles.

Women’s Evolutionary Role as Caregivers

From an evolutionary perspective, women’s ability to nurture, collaborate, and prioritize the collective good was essential for survival. Anthropological studies suggest that women’s caregiving behaviors were critical in:

• Raising and Protecting Offspring: Women’s heightened empathy and vigilance ensured the well-being and survival of the young.

• Building Community Bonds: Women were often the social glue, fostering cooperation and collaboration among group members.

• Ensuring Stability: Balancing multiple needs within families and communities allowed for resource sharing and emotional stability.

This caregiving and collaborative nature was a strength, not a weakness—a design to create resilient, thriving societies.

How Capitalism Exploits Women’s Strengths

Modern capitalism, with its focus on profit and productivity, has commodified these evolutionary traits. Women’s innate drive to nurture and care is used against them in ways that perpetuate inequality:

1. Unpaid or Underpaid Labor
   Women disproportionately shoulder unpaid domestic responsibilities, from child-rearing to eldercare. Even in professional caregiving roles—such as teaching, nursing, and social work—women are often underpaid despite the critical nature of their work.

2. Emotional Labor
   Women are expected to provide emotional support in both personal and professional spheres. This invisible labor—listening, mediating conflicts, offering encouragement—is rarely acknowledged or compensated.

3. "Do It All" Culture
   Society pressures women to excel at work, maintain households, and be emotionally available to everyone around them. Capitalism feeds off this, glorifying multitasking and overachievement while neglecting the toll it takes on mental and physical health.

4. Perfectionism and Consumerism
   Capitalism perpetuates the myth of the "ideal woman" who balances beauty, motherhood, and career effortlessly. This fuels industries—from self-help books to beauty products—that profit from women’s insecurities while adding more to their to-do lists.

The Mental Health Toll on Women

This exploitation has severe consequences for women’s mental health across generations.

• Burnout: Juggling professional, personal, and societal expectations leaves little time for self-care, leading to chronic stress and burnout.

• Anxiety and Depression: The pressure to meet impossible standards often manifests as anxiety and feelings of inadequacy.

• Intergenerational Trauma: These struggles are passed down, as younger generations witness their mothers and grandmothers sacrificing themselves, perpetuating cycles of overwork and undervaluation.

Reclaiming Women’s Strengths

To combat these systemic issues, it’s essential to reframe women’s caregiving nature as a strength rather than a vulnerability—and to demand societal changes that support this.

1. Value Care Work
   Advocate for policies that pay caregivers fairly, provide parental leave, and invest in affordable childcare and eldercare.

2. Set Boundaries
   Encourage women to prioritize self-care without guilt, redefining success as balance and well-being rather than overachievement.

3. Challenge Capitalism’s Narrative
   Shift cultural narratives that glorify self-sacrifice and perfection. Women’s worth is not tied to how much they can give to others or produce for the economy.

4. Build Community Support
   Recreate the communal care systems of our ancestors, where responsibilities were shared, and no one bore the burden alone.

A New Vision for Women

Women’s caregiving and collaborative nature once ensured the survival of entire communities. It’s time to return to honoring these intrinsic strengths—not by exploiting them, but by supporting them with fair policies, cultural respect, and mental health resources. In reclaiming their worth, women can lead a transformation—not just for themselves, but for the society that relies on them.

The future isn’t about asking women to do less. It’s about creating a world where their contributions are valued, their voices are heard, and their well-being matters just as much as the care they give to others.

-Kaci Smith, LMFT

I am a women’s therapist in California. I am passionate about bringing women together through mutually empathic relationships that foster healing and growth. I run online women’s therapy groups year round.