ABSTRACT
P aid care work often is devalued and underpaid. This pervasivepattern is documented by census data on wages andethnographies of nurse’s aides, child-care workers, and other paid care workers (Abel and Nelson 1990; Diamond 1992; England 1992; Foner 1994). The emotional or nurturant aspects of care work tend to be especially devalued. For example, nurse’s aides in homes for the disabled elderly are expected to emphasize physical care and paperwork much more than emotional support. Nurse’s aides who take extra time to comfort a distraught patient often are reprimanded for this deviation from their schedule (Diamond 1992).
