ISBN
978-1529201468Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressISBN
978-1529201482Imprint
Bristol University Press
Work, Labour and Cleaning
The outsourcing of domestic work in the UK has been steadily rising since the 1970s, but there has been little research into White British women who work as independent providers of cleaning services.
Work, Labour and Cleaning is a cross-cultural analysis based on new research into two particular social contexts, one in the UK and one in India. It argues that outsourced domestic cleaning can be undertaken either as work (using mental and manual skills) or as labour (usually defined as unskilled, 'natural' women’s work) depending on the social context and working conditions in which it occurs. The book challenges feminist dogma and popular myths about housework.
"Lotika Singha brings a well-crafted binational study of the relationship between users and providers of outsourced domestic cleaning in the UK and India, noting the varying impacts of class and caste, with a finely honed focus on culture, occupational structures, and meaning." Gender and Society
"Brilliant and thought-provoking, this much-needed book takes up the challenge to compare two realities treated so far as 'worlds apart'.'' Sabrina Marchetti, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Lotika Singha received her doctorate in women’s studies from the University of York. Her research interests centre on social inequalities in everyday life and cross-cultural theories across various population groups.
Introduction
Conceptualising Paid Domestic Work
Behind the Words: Introducing the Research Project and Respondents
Nuances in the Politics of Demand for Outsourced Housecleaning
The Imperfect Contours of Outsourced Domestic Cleaning as Dirty Work
Domestic Cleaning: Work or Labour
Meanings of Domestic Cleaning as Work and Labour
The Occupational Relations of Domestic Cleaning as Work and Labour
Concluding the Book, Continuing the Journey
Appendices
