TITLE: Carework: A Systems Approach
ABSTRACT: If societies are complex dynamic systems, how can local interventions scale to promote social transformation? I will focus, in this lecture, on women’s role in unwaged caregiving in the private sphere, traditionally in families. This is a domain where gender oppression is rampant and the gender norms that govern in the family spread far and wide across society. Moreover, this gendered division of labor produces robust configurations that are difficult to change. I will argue that attention to the dynamics of social reproduction points to some strategies that give women more power. I’m rather skeptical about focusing on policy changes, at least until we have done more to change social norms. So I'll sketch very briefly a multi-dimensional model for social change through chapter-based social movements.