Doing the Dirty Work: Gender, Race, and Reproductive Labor in Historical Perspective

The concept of reproductive labor is central to an analysis of gender inequality, including understanding the devaluation of cleaning, cooking, child care, and other "women's work" in the paid labor force. This article presents historical census data that detail transformations of pai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGender & society Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 313 - 336
Main Author Duffy, Mignon
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications 01.06.2007
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
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Summary:The concept of reproductive labor is central to an analysis of gender inequality, including understanding the devaluation of cleaning, cooking, child care, and other "women's work" in the paid labor force. This article presents historical census data that detail transformations of paid reproductive labor during the twentieth century. Changes in the organization of cooking and cleaning tasks in the paid labor market have led to shifts in the demographics of workers engaged in these tasks. As the context for cleaning and cooking work shifted from the dominance of private household servants to include more institutional forms, the gender balance of this reproductive labor workforce has been transformed, while racial-ethnic hierarchies have remained entrenched. This article highlights the challenges to understanding occupational segregation and the devaluation of reproductive labor in a way that analyzes gender and race-ethnicity in an intersectional way and integrates cultural and structural explanations of occupational degradation.
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ISSN:0891-2432
1552-3977
DOI:10.1177/0891243207300764