The Public nature of the private sphere : women and the issue of child care

Child care is an issue which is crucial to all women. Yet the form and content of this "women's work" has rarely been critically examined in social scientific research. This study argues that if we are to understand the meaning and implications of this kind of labour for women, then our analysis must come to terms with the broader material and ideological structures surrounding the sexual division of labour both within and beyond the Western family home. By discussing child care in the context of the workforce and domestic images and ideologies surrounding the role of women in our society, the study provides an analysis of child care as a form of work, the performance of which is intimately related to the broader structure of labour relations under patriarchal capitalism. The central concerns of the study revolve around three interrelated areas. Firstly, it is shown how the ideology of the nuclear family is fundamental to the exploitation of women as both paid and unpaid labourers. Secondly, the role of the capitalist welfare state in the maintenance and perpetuation of this ideology is explored. Thirdly, through an empirical analysis of Australian family welfare policies, it is demonstrated that state intervention in the private sphere of the home has consistently operated to reinforce notions of child care as the sole responsibility of women, and as labour which is worthy of neither community support nor financial remuneration. It is argued that, ultimately, the provision of free, good quality child care on a universal basis is a necessary precondition to women’s liberation. In so doing, the study presents the issue of child care as a key site for future feminist research and political activity