The Regulation of Paid Domestic Work: A Win-Win Situation or a Reproduction of Social Inequalities?

Abstract

Paid domestic work such as cleaning, child care and elderly care has a long history and is still at the crossroads of important themes for the European Union, especially with reference to irregular work, (un)employment, demographic decline, gender inequalities, the relationship between the family and the state, migration and citizenship. On the other hand, unpaid domestic work is still, to a large extent, perceived as non-work, or as a labour of love performed by women, and thus is not considered ‘real’ work. Furthermore, when such work is performed within the private sphere, it is not a subject of public interest; it is viewed as nonproductive work that does not produce surplus value, but is primarily oriented towards consumption. The perception that domestic work is not work leads to the invisibility of the double burden shouldered by contemporary women that is that of paid productive work within the public sphere and unpaid reproductive labour within the private sphere (Hrženjak 2007). Public, political and even feminist critiques have focused primarily on the participation of women in the sphere of paid work, while the problematization of the burden of reproductive labour shouldered by women has been marginalized.