Varieties of Care Work: Exploring National Differences

COVID-19 heightened awareness of the myriad forms of social connections in care as essential work crucial to the functioning of society. Care work has never been so visible, yet so precarious and vulnerable. Disruptions due to COVID made visible the web of social relationships of care and revealed the vulnerabilities of care recipients and caregivers. Abundant evidence disclosed the disproportionately negative consequences of COVID-19 on women, particularly women of color, migrants, and refugees, both as essential care workers and as recipients of care. The pandemic also revealed the limitations of care systems, exacerbating the care crisis worldwide with a greater impact in vulnerable territories. New research on care work reveals the centrality of the phenomenon and the international diversity of its forms. This session seeks to explore convergences and diversities observed between countries in the global North and South, to highlight the dynamic processes that influence the social organization of care and new forms of care work.

This session welcomes papers on the following topics:

(i) The impact of the pandemic on needs and modalities of care provision.

(ii) Labor conditions and rights in a post pandemic world.

(iii) Care as a strategic dimension and pillar for public policies

(iv) Caring strategies when the state fails