Breadwinning as care?

Autor(en)

Eva-Maria Schmidt

Abstrakt

As some scholars have argued for a distinct conceptualisation of breadwinning and for understanding breadwinning as a form of care, this study addresses parents' constructions of breadwinning and its connections to care. It is based on an in-depth interpretive analysis of multiple-perspective, qualitative longitudinal interviews with 22 Austrian mothers and fathers from three points in time during their transition to parenthood. The analysis revealed four different types of breadwinning concepts by considering the jointly constructed meaning of mothers' and fathers' paid work within a parental couple and further relied on Tronto's [(1993). Moral boundaries. A political argument for an ethic of care. New York, NY: Routledge] conceptualisation of care as a four-step process. The results indicate that respondents construct a clear difference between earning money and breadwinning. Additionally, a difference is made between breadwinning and taking care of the family's subsistence, predominantly so for mothers. In conclusion, breadwinning can definitely be considered a form of care and thus a form of involvement in parenting, but it cannot be regarded a form of involvement in caregiving. The holistic picture of parents' joint constructions enabled us to contribute to the existing conceptualisations of breadwinning and of parental involvement, thus providing a novel perspective on matters of gender equality.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Soziologie

Journal

Community, Work and Family

Band

21

Seiten

445-462

Anzahl der Seiten

18

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2017.1318112

Publikationsdatum

04-2017

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

504014 Gender Studies, 504011 Familienforschung

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Allgemeine Sozialwissenschaften, Development, Sociology and Political Science

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/0bbcc8ef-6826-4bb0-a7d9-01f27ca84f9c