Between Women of Color: The New Social Organization of Reproductive Labor

Cynthia Cranford and her co-authors have published an article in Gender & Society based on research conducted as part of the Gender, Migration and the Work of Care. This article reflects work conducted by the Immigrant Labour Markets for Personal Care Work team.

Citation:

Nazareno, Jennifer, Cynthia Cranford, Lolita Lledo, *Valerie Damasco and *Patricia Roach. 2022. “Between Women of Color: The New Social Organization of Reproductive Labor.” Gender and Society 36(3): 342-367. 

Abstract

In this article, we examine citizenship inequalities in paid reproductive labor. Through an analysis of elder care in Los Angeles, California, based on interviews with Filipina home care agency workers and owners, we delineate citizen divisions made up of two interlocking dimensions. The longstanding U.S. welfare state abdication of responsibility for elder care for its citizens generates a racialized, gendered citizenship division that facilitates another citizenship division between women of color. The outsourcing of elder care by the government to the private sector including small business in the ethnic economy allows Filipina immigrants with legal citizenship to become middle-women minorities who hire undocumented Filipinas to provide care for white, middle-class, older adult women and their families. Through this new social organization of reproductive labor, responsibility is directed away from the state and generating tensions between women of color with different legal statuses. Our findings show how racialized, gendered inequalities are reinforced through this new social organization of reproductive labor but also demonstrate potential for undermining intersecting inequalities.