Women, Work and Welfare

The complex relationship between paid work, unpaid work and welfare is of special importance to women. All over the world, women do most of the household and care work. It is mostly done as unpaid work in the family but can also be organized by the state or through the market. Work has primarily been discussed in relation to the labour market. The concept was broadened by feminist researchers who included unpaid work in the analysis. Mainstream welfare research neglects gender and very little attention is paid to women’s position in the welfare system. The point of departure is the full-time male worker. The relation between paid work, unpaid work and welfare is linked to the sexual division of labour. This implies a hierachical power relation between women and men and between the work done in the private and public sphere respectively. Irrespective of the organization of household and care work, the main part is done by women. The access to many social benefits is connected to paid labour but entitlement can also be based on citizenship, as mothers or as wives. If gender is incorporated, women’s and men’s different structural positions will point to how differently they in practice are included in or excluded from full membership in society. Social inclusion and social exclusion are closely linked to the concept of citizenship.