A Labour of Love: Women, Work and Caring

This book explores the experiences of women who provide unpaid care for children and adults who are handicapped or chronically sick, or for frail elderly people. It raises crucial issues for social and economic policy and examines what caring really means, why women do it, and the economic costs of care.

Format: Hardback
Length: 182 pages
Publication date: 24 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The realities of 'community care' – the unpaid care given by hundreds of thousands of women, often in their own homes, for children and adults who are handicapped or chronically sick, or for frail elderly people – are a complex and multifaceted issue that requires careful consideration. This book, originally published in 1983, delves into the experiences of these women and the dilemmas they face as caregivers.

At a time when most women were required to earn money from a paid job, the challenges of juggling caring responsibilities with other domestic duties were immense. How did these caregivers manage to balance their caregiving duties with their work commitments, and what happened if they were forced to give up work?

Against the backdrop of government policies that favored care "by the community," the contributors to this book raise crucial issues for social and economic policy. Hilary Graham examines the true meaning of caring and explores why women choose to engage in this role. Clare Ungerson questions the motivations behind women's participation in caregiving. Sally Baldwin and Caroline Glendinning focus on mothers with handicapped children, while Fay Wright examines the challenges faced by single adults caring for elderly dependents. Alan Walker highlights the dependencies inherent in caring relationships with the elderly. Lesley Rimmer explores the economic costs of care, and Dulcie Groves and Janet Finch examine the invalid care allowance, a benefit for which married women can never qualify.

In examining the domestic sector of welfare, A Labour of Love made a highly topical contribution to the debate on welfare provision and the division of labor between men and women at the time. The book provided valuable insights into the challenges and complexities faced by caregivers and contributed to the broader understanding of the role of women in society.

Weight: 520g
Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032302133