HomeCare, inequalities, and policies in the South

HomeCare, inequalities, and policies in the South

Care, inequalities, and policies in the South

« Care », inégalités et politiques aux Suds

«Care», desigualdades y políticas en los países del sur

Revue internationale des études du développement

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Published on Friday, April 05, 2019

Abstract

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The aim of this issue is, in a journal focused on development, to gather works presenting the issue of care, which lies at the intersection of the division of labor in care (taken in its broad acception, including paid and unpaid work and taking into account its intrinsic complexity) and of the social organization of care in countries of the South. This issue will favor an interdisciplinary approach. Authors from all the social and human sciences may submit papers. Authors should explore care work and social organization through local, national, international, and transnational analyses. The contextualization of empirical studies and original corpuses, and the combination of a sound theoretical approach and fieldwork are expected. 

Announcement

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Revue internationale des études du développement, no. 242 (2020-2)

Editors

Care as a Tool of Analysis of Social Inequalities: A Growing Field of Study

There has been a growing number of studies dealing with care and the many underlying social inequalities associated with it in the last decades, whether in the United States, Europe, or more recently, in various countries of the South.

The organization and division of labor in care, within families, institutions, and local, national, and transnational societies, in and between countries of the “North” and of the “South”, are clearly essential issues which bring to light the inequalities structuring inter-national relations, as well as social relations, according to one’s gender, class, or race (whether real or supposed).

Care work and its distribution (who does what, how, in what way?) organize activities, responsibilities, opportunities, the access to the labor market and to economic autonomy for individuals according to socially assigned roles and various inequalities. Analyzing these phenomena sets in motion, both at the microsocial and macrosocial, global levels, all the pieces on the social chessboard, from the welfare state to the organization of households, to public policies and their shortcomings, and to the role of the market and of female migrations. Indeed, within the context of a “care crisis” stemming from the combination of an increasing need for care (in particular due to an ageing population), less available family caregivers (in particular women who have increasingly entered the labor market), and weakened social policies, women from working class backgrounds and/or migrants have been holding these devalued, low-paid, precarious jobs, while care workers’ migrations have deepened the care shortage in their countries of origin. Thus, while long neglected and invisibilized, care is associated with fundamental political and economic stakes in and between countries of the South. This issue aims at shedding light on these stakes.

Originating in the United States in the 1980s (Gilligan, 1982), theories and perspectives on care have significantly been developing these past few years, both there and in Europe (in France, starting with the publication of Paperman and Laugier’s book in 2005). More recently, either by allowing to cast new light on the inequalities underlying national social organization, or by offering an interpretive framework for departing or arriving migration movements, studies following this approach have multiplied, specializing in the so-called countries of the South, whether in Latin America,[1] Asia,[2] but also – though to a lesser extent – Africa,[3] or the Near and Middle East.[4]

Care and right to care issues have progressively been taken up by international institutions and incorporated into regional and international political agendas, which on the one hand has accentuated the pressure on governmental agendas and on the other hand has partaken of the development of local research. Thus, as an example, the position paper of the 11th Conference of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), held in 2010, included a chapter on the “economics of care.” The latter draws on the deliberately holistic definition of the concept given by American political scientist Joan Tronto, which we take up here: “a species activity that includes everything we do to maintain, continue, and repair our world so that we may live in it as well as possible. That world includes our bodies, our selves, and our environment, all of which we seek to interweave in a complex, life-sustaining web” (Fischer and Tronto, 1990, p. 40). Tronto gave a political turn to the theories of care such as they had been developed since the 1980s. She broke with the notion of women’s morality when it comes to care, considering the latter as a full-fledged activity, which is unequally distributed and strongly devalued. This devaluation extends to those on whom, due to the nexus between gender-, class-, and race-based social relations, it falls to provide care. This view was to prove central for the studies dealing with care work and its distribution that were developed in the early 2000s (in the North) and in the past ten years (in the South)

Not only has research on care become more widespread, but the approaches and objects of analysis (the social organization of care, migrations, public policies, families, childcare, elderly care, dependant care, the specificities of care work, and theoretical questions), as well as the range of disciplines taking an interest in care (psychology, political science, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, history, law, economics, ecology, medecine, geriatrics, gerontology, and nursing), have become increasingly diverse. Several approaches and concepts have arisen from these efforts to understand the social structures and dynamics at play by integrating the inequalities linked to care activities from a gender-based perspective.

The economics of care, in particular through measurement instruments such as surveys on time use, or time budget, highlights the value of unpaid domestic and care work compared to GDP, as well as through surveys on the links between gender, time use, income, and poverty. This research highlights the place of women in different social spaces, in particular within the labor market and the family. This place has been established in particular through “care regimes,” which are related to the articulation of social responsibility in care. Thus, in 2007, development economist Shahra Razavi proposed an interpretation of the forms taken by the social organization of care according to the interrelation between the four corners of a “care diamond,” respectively corresponding to the state, the market, the family, and community, non-profit organizations. Depending on the region and country, the burden of care responsibilities unequally rests on these four pillars. The care of dependants (and non dependants) by families alone, and within families by women, is widespread, while the shortcomings of the state tend to be compensated for by the market, only for those who can have access to it, deepening existing inequalities, and those for future generations. Studying care may thus be a powerful tool to analyze social inequalities, and the interweaving of gender, class, and race inequalities.

The inegalitarian social organization of care, whether or not it is acknowledged and identified as a challenge for social development (familist and maternalist care regimes are, after all, advantageous for states), can be identified as a central issue in development. The thorny question of the social organization of care is all the more prominent as, aside from the constraints associated with caring for children and teenagers, which mainly affect mothers and more generally women, ageing populations are present in many countries of the South. Moreover, the “care drain” (Hochschild, 2003) from the South towards the North, or between countries of the South, which has helped offset the “care crisis” in host countries, has increased the care shortage in countries of origin, with short-, medium-, and long-term consequences on migrants’ children in particular. These social transformations make it all the more essential to examine the distribution of responsibilities in care between the social actors of the “care diamond,” and the consequences it has on populations.

Care as a Study Tool for Development

The aim of this issue is, in a journal focused on development, to gather works presenting the issue of care, which lies at the intersection of the division of labor in care (taken in its broad acception, including paid and unpaid work and taking into account its intrinsic complexity) and of the social organization of care in countries of the South. Several themes may be tackled:

  • The organization of labor in dependant care (children, the elderly, and the mentally or physically disabled): articles may examine the distribution of care between care institutions and care at home; between domestic workers, care professionals, and families; care provision by nationals and foreigners; and the gendered division of labor in care.
  • The social organization of care among the different national actors (state, market, family, community, NGOs, philanthropic actors, etc.) will allow examining the different configurations which the “care diamond” may take in countries of the South, starting from very diverse and contrasted family structures, state forms, and labor markets. Comparisons may be drawn between countries in the same zone (Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, etc.), or between different zones.
  • Care and public policies. The headway made by neoliberal policies at the international level, and the decreasing resources allocated by states to the social policies for vulnerable populations are undoubtedly factors in the “care crisis.” However, this reconfiguration of social policies varies depending on the country, political regime, and region in the South. One possible entry point could be analyzing the impact of the economic crisis and of neoliberal policies on dependants and their caregivers.
  • Care, migrations, and intersectionality. Among the caregivers of the elderly, children, the sick, and the disabled, proletarian, black women are overrepresented. The interdependence of social power relations of gender, class, and race is one of the salient aspects when analyzing care. The accumulation of inequalities and their interweaving vary depending on the country, internal or international migration, or the existence of anti-discrimination policies or active social movements. Articles may examine the concrete configurations of intersectionality in care work.

Framework / Participation in Issue no. 242 (2020-2) of the RIED

This issue will favor an interdisciplinary approach. Authors from all the social and human sciences may submit papers, including but not limited to: sociology, political science, economics, history, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy. 

Authors should explore care work and social organization through local, national, international, and transnational analyses. The contextualization of empirical studies and original corpuses, and the combination of a sound theoretical approach and fieldwork are expected. 

The selection process will take place according to the dates specified in the publication calendar below.

Proposal Submission

The proposals in French, English, or Spanish must present the paper in approximately 4,000 characters (with spaces), 500 words, or one page. 

The proposals (entitled “AUTHOR’S NAME-Proposition-242) must include: 

  • a title: 70 characters (with the possibility of adding a subtitle); 
  • an abstract detailing the research question, the theoretical framework, the fieldwork, and the main results; 
  • bibliographical references (not included in the character count);
  • a separate file entitled “AUTHOR’S NAME-Infos” providing the authors’ first names and last names, their status, and their institutional affiliation, as well as their email addresses.

The relevancy of the proposals with regard to this call for papers and their conformity to the journal guidelines will be verified by the journal editors and the editorial team.

Article Submission

The authors whose proposals have been selected will be invited to send a first draft of their article, which must follow the guidelines below. The articles will then be submitted to a double blind peer review by two external reviewers who are experts on the topic.

The articles (40,000 characters with spaces, excluding the abstract and references) may be written in French, English, or Spanish. They must be original work. They may however have been presented at a conference (with proceedings), as long as they have been adapted to the format required by the Revue internationale des études du développement (see the guidelines for authors on the blog for the publications of the IEDES). 

Publication Calendar

Article proposals must be submitted by April 20, 2019 to: 

The editors of this issue: 

The authors preselected by the editors and the editorial committee will be notified the week of April 29, 2019.

The first draft, following the journal’s guidelines for authors, must be submitted to the four aforementioned email addresses by June 11, 2019. 

Evaluation

The evaluation process will take a few months; each – anonymous – article will be submitted to a double blind peer review by two external reviewers who are experts on the topic; no. 242 2020-2 is expected to be published in May 2020. 

References

Aguilar Jr F. V., 2003, « Global Migrations, Old Forms of Labor, and New Transborder Class Relations », Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 41, n° 2, p. 137-161.

Aguirre R., Batthyány K., Genta N., Perrotta V., 2014, « Los cuidados en la agenda de investigación y en las políticas públicas en Uruguay », Íconos, n° 50, p. 43-60.

Arango G., Luz G., 2009, « Intersecciones de clase, género y raza en el trabajo de cuidado », Congreso de la Asociación Latinoamericanos de Estudios del Trabajo, Río de Janeiro, 11-14 Junio.

Arriagada I., Todaro R., 2012, Cadenas globales de Cuidados. El papel de las migrantes peruanas en la provisión de cuidados en Chile, Santo Domingo, ONU Mujeres/CEM.

Borgeaud-Garciandía N., 2017, Puertas adentro. Trabajo de cuidado domiciliario a adultos mayores y migración en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Teseo.

Bret J., 2012, « Temps migratoires en tension. Les temporalités produites et vécues du travail domestique global au Liban », Temporalités, n° 15.

Charmes J., Remaoun M., 2012, « Travail, “care” et temps social : le triple emploi du temps des femmes africaines Nouvelles approches de la « féminisation de la pauvreté », dans Benghabrit-Ramaoun N., Benzenine B. (dir.), Les femmes africaines à l’épreuve du développement, Oran, Éditions du CRASC.

Critical Sociology, 2018, Dossier “Care Work in transition”, vol. 44, n° 7-8.

Debonneville J., 2014, « Les écoles du care aux Philippines. Le devenir travailleuse domestique au prisme de l'altérité », Revue Tiers Monde, vol. 1, n° 217, p. 61-78.

Domínguez Serrano M., 2012, Unpaid carework in Africa, Documento de Trabajo n°6, Fundación BBVA.

Fisher B., Tronto J.,1990, « Towards a Feminist Theory of Caring », dans Abel E., Nelson M. (dir.), Circles of Care, Albany, SUNY Press.

Gilligan C., 1982, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women Development, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Guimarães N, Hirata H. (ed.), 2012, Cuidado e cuidadoras. As varias faces do trabalho do care, Sao Paulo, Atlas.

Herrera G., 2013, Lejos de tus pupilas. Familias transnacionales, cuidados y desigualdad social en Ecuador, ONU Mujeres/FLACSO.

Hirata H., Molinier P., Damamme A., 2017, Le travail entre public, privé et intime. Comparaisons et enjeux internationaux du care, Paris, L’Harmattan.

Ito R., 2010, « Immigration et travail de care dans une société vieillissante : le cas du japon », dans Falquet J. et al. (dir.), Le sexe de la mondialisation. Genre, classe, race et nouvelle division du travail, Paris, Presses de Sciences Po (P.F.N.S.P.), p. 137-150.

Jureidini R., 2003, « L'échec de la protection de l'État : les domestiques étrangers au Liban », Revue européenne des migrations internationales, vol. 19, n° 3.

Lund F., 2010, « Hierarchies of Care Work in South Africa: Nurses, Social Workers and Home-based Care Workers », International Labour Review, vol. 149, n° 4, p. 495–509.

Michel S., Peng I. (ed.), 2017, Gender, Migration and the Work of Care. A Multi-Scalar Approach to the Pacific Rim, Londres/New York, Palgrave Macmillan.

Ochiai E., Aoyama K. (ed.), 2018, Asian Women and Intimate Work, Leiden, Brill.

Ogaya C., 2017, « Care et migration philippine vers le Japon : féminisation des migrations et ses conséquences », dans Damamme A., Hirata H., Molinier P. (dir.) Le travail entre public, privé et intime. Comparaisons et enjeux internationaux du care, Paris, L’Harmattan, p. 67-85.

Paperman P., Laugier S. (dir.), 2005, Le souci des autres. Étique et politique du care, Paris, Raisons Pratiques/EHESS.

Percot M., 2014, « Un métier pour partir : la migration des infirmières kéralaises (Inde du Sud) », Revue Tiers Monde, vol. 1, n° 217, p. 45-59.

Razavi S., 2007, « The Political and Social Economy of Care in a Development Context. Conceptual Issues, Research Questions and Policy Options », Gender and Development, Programme Paper Number 1, Genève, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.

Rodríguez Enríquez C., Pautassi L., 2014, La organización social del cuidado de niños y niñas. Elementos para la construcción de una agenda de cuidados en Argentina, Buenos Aires, Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género/ELA.

Ueno C., 2011, Kea no shakaigaku ? toujishashuken no fukushishakai he [The Sociology of Care? Towards a Welfare Society of Individual Autonomy], Tokyo, Ohta Publishing.

Younes M., Molinier P., 2017, « Le “familialisme”, au delà de la fausse conscience : une analyse à partir de récits de travailleuses domestiques (Colombie, Liban) », dans Damamme A., Hirata H., Molinier P. (dir.), Le travail entre public, privé et intime. Comparaisons et enjeux internationaux du care, Paris, L’Harmattan.

 

 

[1] Among a vast literature, see Arango Gaviria (2009); Borgeaud-Garciandía (2017); Guimarães and Hirata (2012); Herrera (2013); Rodríguez Enríquez and Pautassi (2014); Aguirre et al. (2012); and Arriagada and Torrado (2012).

[2] In particular, Ueno (2011); Ochiai (2018); Ito (2010); Ogaya (2017); Critical Sociology (2018); Aguilar (2003); Percot (2014); and Debonneville (2014).

[3] For instance, Lund (2011); Charmes and Remaoun (2012); and Domínguez Serrano (2012).

[4] For instance, Jureidini (2003); Younes (2017); and Bret (2012).


Date(s)

  • Saturday, April 20, 2019

Keywords

  • care, développement, inégalité

Contact(s)

  • Béatrice Trotier-Faurion
    courriel : revdev [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

Information source

  • Béatrice Trotier-Faurion
    courriel : revdev [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Care, inequalities, and policies in the South », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, April 05, 2019, https://calenda.org/599873

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