The pandemic has brought the care crisis – manifest in the lack of care policies for young children, older persons and people with disabilities – to the surface. Adopting a biographical approach, this article explores the care crisis from the perspective of female caregivers, using interviews to reconstruct their experiences of caring for others during the pandemic. We analyzed the narratives of four working-class women who work as caregivers of children and/or older persons while at the same time performing caregiving tasks at home. The findings highlight the impact of the pandemic on their work, including ways of working during social isolation and the difficulties they faced. The informal nature of their work exacerbated the vulnerability of these women.
Keywords
Pandemic; Crisis; Care; Precariousness; Women