One form of labor which is not always clearly thought of as labor or work is Caring and Re-productive Labor. By convention, history, prejudice, etc. , it is done predominantly by women. Even wage-labor jobs of the Caring Labor type are done more by women.
This will be "Mothers' Week" on the Labor Power blog.For background on Caring Labourers, see my previous blog ,
The Familial and anti-War, not Commercial or Male Supremacist, Origins of Mother's Day
http://take10charles.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-familial-not-commercial-origin-of.htmlAnd please let me interrupt this praise of caring laborers in the abstract to praise some real caring laborers, the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses (MMPN) Detroit , which celebrated its 90th anniversary this past Saturday, May 10, 2014. MMPN is one of the nation's oldest African American nurse associations: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Mahoney-Professional-Nurses-Detroit/145618148817600
"..the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization('s)... historic mission is to provide financial aid and scholarships to students of African heritage who pursue studies leading to careers in professional nursing. Proud of our past and embracing our future."
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Mahoney-Professional-Nurses-Detroit/145618148817600
A Mothers' Week salute from Labor Power to the conscious, organized, caring labourers, the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses
Back to the abstraction at hand, a Wikipedia item says this about "care work":
"Care work is a sub-category of work that includes all tasks that directly involve care processes done in service of others. Often, it is differentiated from other forms of work because it is intrinsically motivated, meaning that people are motivated to pursue care work for internal reasons, not related to money.[1] Another factor that is often used to differentiate caring labor from other types of work is the motivating factor. This perspective defines care labor as labor undertaken out of affection or a sense of responsibility for other people, with no expectation of immediate pecuniary reward.[2] Despite the importance of this intrinsic motivation factor, care work includes care activities done for pay as well as those done without remuneration.
Specifically, care work refers to those occupations that provide services that help people develop their capabilities, or their ability to pursue the aspects of their life that they value. Examples of these occupations include child care, all levels of teaching (from preschool through university professors), and health care of all types (nurses, doctors, physical therapists and psychologists).[3] Care work also includes the array of domestic unpaid work that is often disproportionately done by women.[4]
Often, care work focuses on the responsibilities to provide for dependents- children, the sick, and the elderly.[5] However, care work also refers to any work done in the immediate service others, regardless of the recipient’s dependent or nondependent status.
Care work is becoming a popular topic for academic study and discussion. This study is closely linked with the field of feminist economics and is associated with scholars including Nancy Folbre, Paula England, Maria Floro, Diane Elson, Caren Grown and Virginia Held" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Care_work
Of course, women do much of what is regularly called labor, work, toil, too:
Living in Detroit and growing up there in the 60's with caring people, I decided by the age of 9 to go into a field where I could help people. At first, I wanted to be a doctor, because your next door neighbor was one and I loved her dearly. As I got older, I realized there were many ways to care for others. Your blog draws attention to many of the things I've done or want to do to help other people. As a woman, and an African American, I've had to "rise above" the things that often bring one down. My parents were educators and I learned to teach other students in the classroom in elementary. In high school I taught music to those younger than me, one of which came to be President of the City Council in San Diego, an African American who continues to help others, and is now President of the Imperial Valley Red Cross of San Diego. I have worked at a medical school and helped doctors, residents and medical students, even to the point of teaching doctors bloodless surgery. I became a minister to help others have a better way of life. I CARE! It's just that plain and simple. I started a coffee business to help a student in the teaching profession in Ghana who has a school he is helping. I have helped Mom overcome obstacles in her aging, and Alzheimer's to actually teach again at 91, if only repeating what I taught her back to the caregivers who were close at hand. Growing up in the civil rights era, I was surrounded by caring individuals and it rubbed off on me. I truly appreciate your blog and look forward to reading all you write. Thank you Charles for caring so much as to create a forum to learn and share. You are a sterling example to me and I learn so much because you care so much. Again, THANK YOU, for all you do for others, and for caring so much about people, justice and this Earth!
ReplyDeleteI have been a caregiver & the intrinsic reward cannot be measured in dollars! It can also be depleting if one is not careful to incorporate self-catering. Thanks for this topic Charles Brown! It is critically important!
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