Nursing Homes: a feminized sector where men are increasingly in charge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/stra.81110
Keywords: Gender, organizations, care centers for elderly people, occupational segregation, private management, care occupations

Abstract

The feminization of employment in the residential sector for elderly people offers a starting point for the research that underpins this paper. It is noted that, even though more than eighty percent of those who make up the staff of the residences are women (EPA, 2021Q4), most of the management and organizational positions are taken by men.

      After approaching the regional situation, based on secondary data provided by the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha and key informants, we focus on the province of Albacete. The analysis, of the results of the questionnaire applied to the centers, highlight the tendency of male occupation of power and responsibility positions in care homes for elderly people.

Furthermore, this paper reflects on the implications of the ongoing increase of private management in the sector, which has been historically feminized by the social construction of care and currently consolidated by unbalanced power relationships.

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Author Biographies

Sandra López Fernandez, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

SANDRA LÓPEZ FERNÁNDEZ She has a degree in Sociology from the University of Alicante. Currently associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology and Aesthetics of the University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM). She is a member of the Research Group Education, Gender, Work and Society in Castilla-La Mancha (EDUTRASOC-CLM) of the University of Castilla-La Mancha. His preferred lines of research are the Sociology of Work, the Sociology of Organizations and the Sociology of Education. He is carrying out a Research Stay at the Universidade de Lisboa - ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics & Management in the research group SOCIUS – Centro de Investigação em Sociologia Económica e das Organizações. She is writing his doctoral thesis researching the residential sector for the elderly in Castilla La Mancha. E-mail: sandra.lfernandez@uclm.es

 

Paloma Candela Soto, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

PALOMA CANDELA SOTO. She holds a PhD in Sociology and is a professor of Sociology at the University of Castilla-La Mancha where she directs the Education, Gender, Work and Society Research Group in Castilla-La Mancha (EDUTRASOC-CLM). His main lines of research are framed in the fields of the Sociology of Work, Gender and Education applied to studies on Youth and Childhood. Among his recent publications, the following stand out: El lastre de las desigualdades de género en la educación y el trabajo: jóvenes castellano-manchegas atrapadas en la precariedad (Sociología del Trabajo, 92, https://doi.org/10.5209/STRA.58995) y “Jóvenes en perpetuo tránsito hacia ninguna parte”, en coautoría con V. Borrás; S. Moreno y M. Legarreta (REIS, 28, 2019): https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2019.05

E-mail: paloma.candela@uclm.es  

María del Carmen Sánchez Pérez, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

Mª CARMEN SÁNCHEZ PÉREZ is Professor of Sociology at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. He joins the university teaching at the Faculty of Social Work of Cuenca and currently teaches undergraduate and master's degrees at the Faculty of Education of Albacete. He is a member of the EDUTRASOC research team and the University Subnetwork of Learning Communities of Castilla-La Mancha (SUCA-CLM). His research career has been oriented to the field of social welfare, social change, educational change and teaching innovation, with special interest in the reality of Castilla-La Mancha. The transfer of research results has been carried out through scientific publications and R&D&I contracts with public entities.

 

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Published
2022-11-14
How to Cite
López Fernandez S. ., Candela Soto P. y Sánchez Pérez M. d. C. (2022). Nursing Homes: a feminized sector where men are increasingly in charge. Sociología del Trabajo, 101, 215-228. https://doi.org/10.5209/stra.81110
Issue
No. 101 (2022): ST 101: Occupational Segretation: Work and Womens.
Section
Artículos

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