Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care
Live-in care, provided by mainly female migrants, has developed as a do-it-yourself welfare mechanism—hardly regulated, with undefined working times, singular labour relations and widely untraceable cash flows. Migrant carers are isolated, working in a ‘grey’ area, torn between the family in which t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/8/326 |
| _version_ | 1797431669042446336 |
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| author | Kai Leichsenring Selma Kadi Cassandra Simmons |
| author_facet | Kai Leichsenring Selma Kadi Cassandra Simmons |
| author_sort | Kai Leichsenring |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Live-in care, provided by mainly female migrants, has developed as a do-it-yourself welfare mechanism—hardly regulated, with undefined working times, singular labour relations and widely untraceable cash flows. Migrant carers are isolated, working in a ‘grey’ area, torn between the family in which they are working and the individual person in need of care, and very often they are also dependent on brokering agencies. The aim of this contribution is therefore to describe and analyse how the pandemic has made hidden inequalities more visible in connection with the specificities of live-in migrant care in Austria, Italy and Spain. Findings are based on a brief scoping review, including national media coverage. Results are described in terms of national caveats and strategies to respond to challenges triggered by the pandemic. Mitigating short-term strategies were implemented under pressure and at short notice, mainly influenced by the national framework conditions of live-in migrants in the respective countries. In spite of upcoming political debates regarding the regularisation of live-in care, including issues of wages and working conditions, the visibility of migrant live-in care remains tightly connected to the further development of care regimes and the acknowledgement of unpaid work as a precondition for gender equality and equal opportunities in a European and subsequently in a global dimension. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:48:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e83ac4c6bba4b28baecb16dce3c2ad1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:48:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e83ac4c6bba4b28baecb16dce3c2ad12023-12-02T00:18:24ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602022-07-0111832610.3390/socsci11080326Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term CareKai Leichsenring0Selma Kadi1Cassandra Simmons2European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, 17 1090 Vienna, AustriaEuropean Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, 17 1090 Vienna, AustriaEuropean Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, 17 1090 Vienna, AustriaLive-in care, provided by mainly female migrants, has developed as a do-it-yourself welfare mechanism—hardly regulated, with undefined working times, singular labour relations and widely untraceable cash flows. Migrant carers are isolated, working in a ‘grey’ area, torn between the family in which they are working and the individual person in need of care, and very often they are also dependent on brokering agencies. The aim of this contribution is therefore to describe and analyse how the pandemic has made hidden inequalities more visible in connection with the specificities of live-in migrant care in Austria, Italy and Spain. Findings are based on a brief scoping review, including national media coverage. Results are described in terms of national caveats and strategies to respond to challenges triggered by the pandemic. Mitigating short-term strategies were implemented under pressure and at short notice, mainly influenced by the national framework conditions of live-in migrants in the respective countries. In spite of upcoming political debates regarding the regularisation of live-in care, including issues of wages and working conditions, the visibility of migrant live-in care remains tightly connected to the further development of care regimes and the acknowledgement of unpaid work as a precondition for gender equality and equal opportunities in a European and subsequently in a global dimension.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/8/326migrant care workpandemicinequalitieslong-term careAustriaItaly |
| spellingShingle | Kai Leichsenring Selma Kadi Cassandra Simmons Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care Social Sciences migrant care work pandemic inequalities long-term care Austria Italy |
| title | Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care |
| title_full | Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care |
| title_fullStr | Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care |
| title_short | Making the Invisible Visible: The Pandemic and Migrant Care Work in Long-Term Care |
| title_sort | making the invisible visible the pandemic and migrant care work in long term care |
| topic | migrant care work pandemic inequalities long-term care Austria Italy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/8/326 |
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