Between moral acceptance and objective needs: outsourcing domestic and care services in Germany and in international comparison
Final Report Abstract
The project's goal was a systematic exploration of the socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional factors influencing the paid outsourcing of household chores and caregiving tasks in Germany and other countries. In particular, the focus was on demand for domestic help, child care, elder care, foods-away-from-home, and home repair services. The study is motivated by the escalating support needs of households due to increased time pressures, in part attributable to increased female employment, intensification of work life and demographic changes. Our examination of the allocation of labor in households of contemporary couples, as well as the general demand for services in private households in Germany and abroad, reveals that beyond socioeconomic influences, sociocultural and gender-normative considerations significantly determine how households allocate domestic tasks and the degree to which they employ and accept external services. Contrary to popular belief, it is not just affordability that plays a key role in fully exploiting demand potential, but also the quality, trustworthiness and professionalism of the services. With regard to political and societal action potential, it is vital that considerations of gender equity and social justice be integrated into efforts to alleviate household burdens and sustainably unlock the employment potential of women, as elements of a broader political strategy. This strategy should extend beyond broad support for household and family-related services to include other aspects like, for example, flexible working hours and locations, as well as temporary, needs-based, and life-course-oriented reductions in work hours, without responsibility for care reverting predominantly back to women. Such a strategy would necessitate both acknowledging the essential societal role of care work and facilitating its emergence from societal marginalization. Hence, expanding and publicly supporting household services as regular, professionalized employment could be an integral part of this comprehensive strategy.
Publications
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Conflicts over the division of domestic work: A matter of gender-specific expectations and needs. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(9), 2825–2846.
Trübner, Miriam
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Die Nachfrage nach Haushaltsnahen Dienstleistungen im Kontext staatlicher Unterstützungsleistungen. Ein Überblick über Determinanten, Modelle staatlicher Förderung und Konsequenzen für Haushalte und Dienstleister*innen. Nr. 31, Hans-Böckler Stiftung / Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut (WSI). ISSN: 2367-0827
Nisic, Natascha & Friederike Molitor
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Doing Housework in Context: Dyadic Analyses of the Division of Domestic Labor in Contemporary Couples. Journal of Family Issues, 45(6), 1378-1402.
Nisic, Natascha & Trübner, Miriam
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Rethinking paid domestic services in modern societies – Experimental evidence on the effect of quality and professionalisation onservice demand. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 43(13/14), 106-128.
Nisic, Natascha; Molitor, Friederike & Trübner, Miriam
