The inequalities of care work: meanings and practices of main female caregivers of elderly people in a state of dependency

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the meaning of care activity of elderly people with severe dependence or major dependence carried out by senior female caregivers located in the Metropolitan Region. Primarily, the analysis focuses on the disparities faced by women caregivers in their regular work, in the meaning of that work and in the relevance that it has to people, where kinship relationships, mutual support, reciprocity and sustainability of life alongside the practice of care, are involved. The approach used in this research is qualitative, based on semi-structured interviews with female caregivers. On one hand, the results reaffirm -from a feminist perspective- the unequal scenery of care activities and that public policy is insufficient to address the well-being of primary and informal caregivers, also, the findings showed the relation between the meaning of care and the dependence of persons with dementia as Alzheimer's disease. On the other hand, the results exhibit tensions and conflicts in the practice of care, as well as social constructs anchored within the social order of gender and the elderliness of the caregivers.