Beyond Caring Labour to Provisioning Work

'This impressive study delves into the important and exhausting work that women do to sustain themselves, their friends and families, and their communities, often in the face of extraordinarily challenging circumstances. The authors offer terrific data and significant insights into these women's lives, revealing how ineffective and even harmful current policies that affect them actually are. Beyond Caring Labour argues compellingly for a new policy development framework that would provide more positive outcomes, and as such, should be of interest to analysts in government, unions, workplaces, and social service agencies.' -- Meg Luxton, School of Women's Studies, York University

Beyond Caring Labour to Provisioning Work offers a powerful new framework for understanding women's work in a holistic sense, acknowledging both their responsibilities in supporting others as well as their employment duties.

Although women have long been members of the labour force, the proportion of domestic, caring, and community work they provide compared to men or the state has yet to decrease substantially. Beyond Caring Labour to Provisioning Work offers a powerful new framework for understanding women's work in a holistic sense, acknowledging both their responsibilities in supporting others as well as their employment duties.

Beyond Caring Labour to Provisioning Work is based on a four-year, multi-site study of women who are members of contemporary community organizations. The authors reveal the complex ways in which these women define and value their own work, investigating what supports and constrains their individual and collective efforts. Calling on the state to assist more with citizens' provisioning responsibilities, Beyond Caring Labour to Provisioning Work provides an excellent basis for new discussions on equitable and sustainable public policies.