Abstract
The last decade, Nordic families have started to employ nannies and au pairs to an extent previously never experienced. Political initiatives such as tax deductions for household services, together with global trends of ‘care chains’, have created a private market for care services, which have made it possible for families to hire cheap female, and often migrant, care labour. In the case of Sweden, this is an indication of a re-familializing trend in politics of care and family; a move away from a social democratic welfare regime, towards the privatized and marketized care/family solutions of other Western countries. This qualitative study of Swedish families who hire nannies/au pairs shows how the dual earner/dual carer ideal is being replaced by a dual earner/privately outsourced care ideal, a shift that requires particular forms of accounting for their practices on the part of the parents, related to the discourse of gender equality as well as narratives of what is ‘best for children’. This, we argue, indicates that gender equality and ‘good care’ for children is increasingly becoming a class privilege.
Highlights
1.1 New possibilities for managing the work/family balance have emerged for Swedish families in the past decade
In the case of Sweden, this is an indication of a re-familializing trend in politics of care and family; a move away from a social democratic welfare regime, towards the privatized and marketized care/family solutions of other Western countries
The former Swedish welfare state model, with publicly funded institutions such as daycare centres and paid parental leave (Bergqvist & Nyberg 2002), all justified by strongly held ideals of social equality, the dual earner/dual carer model, and gender equality (Daly & Rake 2003;Lundqvist 2011), is today complemented by a growing private market for care services, a market that is subsidized by the government
Summary
1.1 New possibilities for managing the work/family balance have emerged for Swedish families in the past decade. This qualitative study of Swedish families who hire nannies/au pairs shows how the dual earner/dual carer ideal is being replaced by a dual earner/privately outsourced care ideal, a shift that requires particular forms of accounting for their practices on the part of the parents, related to the discourse of gender equality as well as narratives of what is ‘best for children’.
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