Hierarchization and Segmentation of Informal Care Markets in Slovenia

• Published in: Social politics 2012-04, Vol.19 (1), p.38-57
• Main Author: Hr enjak, Majda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Care of the aged; Caregivers - economics; Caregivers - education; Caregivers - history; Caregivers - legislation & jurisprudence; Caregivers - psychology; Child care; Child Care - economics; Child Care - history; Child Care - legislation & jurisprudence; Child Care - psychology; Child Care Services; Child, Preschool; Citizenship; Criteria; Domestic workers; Elder care; Elderly; Ethnic groups; Ethnicity; Females; Gender Identity; Hierarchy; Hierarchy, Social - history; History of medicine; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Home Care Services - economics; Home Care Services - history; Home Care Services - legislation & jurisprudence; Households; Housekeeping - economics; Housekeeping - history; Housekeeping - legislation & jurisprudence; Housework; Humans; Informal Sector; Market; Markets; Poverty; Qualitative Methods; Qualitative research; Reputation; Slovenia; Slovenia - ethnology; Women - education; Women - history; Women - psychology; Work; Work - economics; Work - history; Work - legislation & jurisprudence; Work - physiology; Work - psychology
• ISSN: 1072-4745; 1468-2893
• DOI: 10.1093/sp/jxr024

The article is the result of qualitative research of informal care markets in Slovenia in the field of childcare, elder care, and cleaning. The author assesses Slovenia's position in the "global care chain" and finds that "local care chains" prevail in the field of childcare and elder care, while a co-occurrence of female gender, "other" ethnicity, and poverty is typical in the field of household cleaning. The main emphasis of the article is on the analysis of hierarchization of the informal market of care work according to following two criteria: social reputation of individual type of care work and citizenship status of care workers.