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

• Published in: Gender & society Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 313 - 336
• Main Author: Duffy, Mignon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications 01.06.2007; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: 20th century; Cleaning; Comparable Worth; Domestic service; Domestic workers; Earnings; Food preparation; Food service; Gender; Gender relations; Hispanics; Housework; Inequality; Labor; Labor Market Segmentation; Labor markets; Labor union representation; Men; Occupational Segregation; Occupations; Race; Racial Differences; Segregation; Service Industries; Sexual Division of Labor; Sexual Inequality; Social history; Sociology; Women's employment; Workforce; Working women; United States > US; care work; reproductive labor; janitorial and food service work; occupational segregation; domestic service
• ISSN: 0891-2432; 1552-3977
• DOI: 10.1177/0891243207300764

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.