Provides a thorough, informative and well-documented analysis of the critical problems resulting from the relative de-valuation of any work women do and, in particular, the de-valuation of care work in a world where what is valued is product and profit. In bringing this collection together, Harrington Meyer has created a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts: one comes away not only with an intellectual understanding, but also with a visceral sense of the impact of these stubbornly entrenched aspects of our current form of stratification on the lives of real people.
–Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
Care Work would be a good addition to courses in family sociology, family studies, gender, life course(s), social and public policy, gerontology, and women's studies. Considered together, the essays in Care Work provide the background for an understanding of the forces that shape the structure and relationships of care across boundaries of history and geography as well as gender, class, race, and policy.
–Contemporary Sociology
Care Work is rich in empirical evidence and creative in its conceptual frameworks. It will serve as a valuable resource for scholars in the field of care, and for those teaching gender, work, women's studies, and medical sociology.
–American Journal of Sociology
This edited volume makes a tremendous contribution to the emerging care work literature....This book is an excellent resource for scholars doing research on care work and those who would like to incorporate care work issues into their research or courses on gender, family, health, or public policy. The empirical work is compelling, often incorporating care providers' voices, and the overlying analytic framework stimulates new ideas..
–Journal of Marriage and the Family
Product Description
Care Work is a collection of original essays on the meaning of providing care. These essays address not only the work of caring for the elderly but also the work of caring for children, the infirm and those with disabilities. The essays will approach the topic from an ethical standpoint and also from a more practical, feminist and sociological point of view. For example, contributors examine the disturbing consequences of dismantling the welfare state for working women, who might not be able to afford daycare on their own, and their children. The main goal of the book is to reconceive the notion of care work, beginning with steps as simple as replacing the phrase "caregiver" with the phrase "care worker."
See all Editorial Reviews
