Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and reinforced the structural crisis in paid and unpaid care work. On the one hand, pandemic-related closures of schools and childcare facilities increased the fragility of unpaid care arrangements, which are mainly organised by women. On the other hand, high infection...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | ces |
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Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Gender a Výzkum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202301-0003_double-fragility-the-care-crisis-in-the-time-of-the-pandemic.php |
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| _version_ | 1849404272470392832 |
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| author | Alexandra Scheele Helene Schiffbänker David Walker Greta Wienkamp |
| author_facet | Alexandra Scheele Helene Schiffbänker David Walker Greta Wienkamp |
| author_sort | Alexandra Scheele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and reinforced the structural crisis in paid and unpaid care work. On the one hand, pandemic-related closures of schools and childcare facilities increased the fragility of unpaid care arrangements, which are mainly organised by women. On the other hand, high infection and hospitalisation rates exacerbated the difficult working conditions in health-care professions, ranging from low wages and long working hours to high levels of mental and physical stress. Drawing on interviews conducted in an ongoing project in the German and Austrian health-care sector, this article investigates, from a gender perspective, how employees in health-care professions, who are at the very centre of both the unpaid and paid care crises, experienced this precarious situation during the pandemic. We suggest that the female-dominated sectors of paid and unpaid care work experienced further devaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic, while attempts to valorise their work were rather short-lived. We further argue that the structural crisis in paid care work is threatening the functionality of the health-care sector. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8fe65a0da4c645b89e1a24c5c0a0d54d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2570-6578 2570-6586 |
| language | ces |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gender a Výzkum |
| spelling | doaj-art-8fe65a0da4c645b89e1a24c5c0a0d54d2025-08-20T03:37:02ZcesCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of SociologyGender a Výzkum2570-65782570-65862023-09-01241113510.13060/gav.2023.003gav-202301-0003Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the PandemicAlexandra Scheele0Helene Schiffbänker1David Walker2Greta Wienkamp3University of BielefeldJoanneum Research ForschungsgesellschaftJoanneum Research ForschungsgesellschaftUniversity of BielefeldThe COVID-19 pandemic exposed and reinforced the structural crisis in paid and unpaid care work. On the one hand, pandemic-related closures of schools and childcare facilities increased the fragility of unpaid care arrangements, which are mainly organised by women. On the other hand, high infection and hospitalisation rates exacerbated the difficult working conditions in health-care professions, ranging from low wages and long working hours to high levels of mental and physical stress. Drawing on interviews conducted in an ongoing project in the German and Austrian health-care sector, this article investigates, from a gender perspective, how employees in health-care professions, who are at the very centre of both the unpaid and paid care crises, experienced this precarious situation during the pandemic. We suggest that the female-dominated sectors of paid and unpaid care work experienced further devaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic, while attempts to valorise their work were rather short-lived. We further argue that the structural crisis in paid care work is threatening the functionality of the health-care sector.https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202301-0003_double-fragility-the-care-crisis-in-the-time-of-the-pandemic.phpcare-workhealth-care sectorcrisis of social reproductioncorona/covid-19 pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Scheele Helene Schiffbänker David Walker Greta Wienkamp Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic Gender a Výzkum care-work health-care sector crisis of social reproduction corona/covid-19 pandemic |
| title | Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic |
| title_full | Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic |
| title_short | Double Fragility: The Care Crisis in the Time of the Pandemic |
| title_sort | double fragility the care crisis in the time of the pandemic |
| topic | care-work health-care sector crisis of social reproduction corona/covid-19 pandemic |
| url | https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202301-0003_double-fragility-the-care-crisis-in-the-time-of-the-pandemic.php |
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