The Nature and Value of Domestic Labour Flashcards
Definition
Unpaid housework and childcare - responsibility for most of this falls to women
No pay, pension or holidays, and unlimited working hours
Legal and General
Value of a Parent Survey
Women with children spend average 71 hours a week on household chores + childcare
Valued at £32,000 yearly, £600 weekly, and £8.50 an hour
Higher than most households could afford to pay + mothers put in a third more time
Who Benefits?
Radical Feminists
Men benefit
Overwhelmingly women carry out domestic labour
Inequalities in domestic labour part of problem of patriarchy - family institutionalising, reinforcing, and reproducing male power
Who Benefits?
Marxist Feminists
Domestic labour benefits capitalism
Reproduces labour force at no cost to the capitalist, free production + rearing of children, support for male workers
Family is a** ‘social factory’**
Domestic labour contributes to daily reproduction of labour
Recognise it is also a problem of patriarchy
