Broken Promises and Dashed Expectations. Food for thought on domestic work and rights in Italy. «Italy is a democratic republic founded on work»: Article. 1 of the Italian Constitution mirrors a concept of work as a source of rights that was developed over a long time span. In this essay, I will briefly analyze the main stages of this development. The essay investigates from a gender perspective whether and to what extent the seemingly universal notion of work referred to in the Italian Constitution and its underlying tradition include any form of work or whether, on the contrary, some activities typically performed by women, such as domestic work and care work (both paid and unpaid) were (and are) not included. It pays attention to the statistical construction of housewives as economically passive, and that of domestic work as “non-work”. I conclude the essay with some reflections on the so-called feminization of work and the process by which work is becoming more ‘servile’.
Promesse mancate e attese deluse. Spunti di riflessione su lavoro domestico e diritti in Italia
SARTI, RAFFAELLA
2013
Abstract
Broken Promises and Dashed Expectations. Food for thought on domestic work and rights in Italy. «Italy is a democratic republic founded on work»: Article. 1 of the Italian Constitution mirrors a concept of work as a source of rights that was developed over a long time span. In this essay, I will briefly analyze the main stages of this development. The essay investigates from a gender perspective whether and to what extent the seemingly universal notion of work referred to in the Italian Constitution and its underlying tradition include any form of work or whether, on the contrary, some activities typically performed by women, such as domestic work and care work (both paid and unpaid) were (and are) not included. It pays attention to the statistical construction of housewives as economically passive, and that of domestic work as “non-work”. I conclude the essay with some reflections on the so-called feminization of work and the process by which work is becoming more ‘servile’.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
