Beyond “Women’s Work”: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Management of Paid Care Work in Nonprofit Domiciliary Services in Italy

Abstract

Based on qualitative data, this article focuses on management practices in social cooperatives operating as non-profit providers of domiciliary care services in Italy. Their livelihood is eroded by the presence of migrant live-in care-givers, who are privately employed, inexpensive and often irregular. This competition is not only economic but also symbolic, as it jeopardises the managers' attempts to define care work as a skilled job and reproduces notions of care as naturally feminine 'women's work'. The article analyses the strategies adopted by the managers in order to negotiate this competition, and shows how these challenge dominant gendered constructions of care work.

The Impact of Micro and Macro Level Factors on the Working and Living Conditions of Migrant Care Workers in Italy and Israel—A Scoping Review

“…Out of the 33 included articles, 18 focused on Italy [ 29 , 37 , 38 , 44 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ], 14 focused on Israel [ 23 , 39 , 45 , 48 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ], and one article focused on both Italy and Israel [ 34 ].…”

“…Five studies were from the field of Migration [ 37 , 38 , 44 , 56 , 62 ], three were from Ageing/Gerontology [ 29 , 49 , 61 ], two each were from Politics [ 51 , 54 ], and Anthropology [ 50 , 61 ], and one each were from Policy and Society [ 60 ], Sociology [ 59 ], Health [ 38 ], Social Policy [ 52 ], Global Studies in Culture and Power [ 53 ], Participation and Conflict [ 57 ], East and Central Europe [ 58 ], and Housing [ 55 ].…”

“…A total of 16 studies had a qualitative design [ 37 , 38 , 44 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 61 , 62 , 67 ], two were quantitative [ 29 , 49 ], and one study had a mixed-methods qualitative and quantitative design [ 60 ].…”

“…Two studies were from 2015 [ 49 , 65 ], two were from 2016 [ 29 , 51 ], five were from 2017 [ 37 , 38 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], four were from 2018 [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ], and five were from 2019 [ 44 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ].…”

“…Second, both have familial care regimes, where the majority of care for older adults has traditionally been provided within the family network [ 31 , 37 ]. Third, they share similarities in gender regimes, with women bearing most of the care burden [ 44 , 45 ]. Fourth, both countries are experiencing rapid population ageing, which is likely to result in a high level of demand for home-based care in the coming years [ 16 ].…”