Care In Context

With its focus on care in Switzerland and South Africa, this book might appear to put an unusual pair side by side. It is refreshing and thought-provoking to have 'the north' and 'the south' compared in this way, and disturbing to see what this demonstrates. Differences aside, both countries are deeply conservative and patriarchal in the realm of family policies; there are serious gaps between social policies and practices; care policies and practices reproduce gender inequalities; the vast majority of carers, in families, in formal and informal economies, and in the volunteer sector, are women; and elderly people are not only care receivers, they also play a significant role in providing care to others. These well-referenced essays from a variety of disciplines constitute a rich resource for the study of care. They set an agenda for the next round of public debate and scholarship on care, both theoretical an empirical. - FRANCIE LUND, School of Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal Care in Context brings together two of the most important themes and challenges of contemporary times: the care challenge, of how to shift the world away from uncaring and 'carelessness' towards care and caring, and the transnational challenge, of how to work between and across nations and locations. Care in Context is an important book, not only in terms of these urgent issues, but moreover as a model for further collaborations between 'the global North' and 'the global South'. I recommend it very warmly indeed. It is above all a contribution to peace and equality. JEFF HEARN, Orebro University, Sweden; Hanken School of Economics, Finland; University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom This compelling collection demystifies the meanings of care and puts the spotlight on its gendered dimensions in two different African and European contexts. The care domain is a critical axis of power, globally, that often misrecognizes women and makes their contributions to society invisible. Yet recognition of the care work performed by many women and some men, whether paid or unpaid, is vital to general wellbeing in the increasingly strained care and welfare regimes worldwide. Further building on the ground-breaking UNRISD study on care and gender, this volume carefully considers theory, models, policies and practices. Care in Context makes an important contribution to the knowledge gateway. It provides thoughtful, fresh and nuanced perspectives that offer a smart engagement with material issues across the South African and Swiss contexts and reanimates some of the emancipatory motives that inspire the ethics of care. RELEBOHILE MOLETSANE, Professor & John Langalibalele Dube Chair in Rural Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal