ABSTRACT
Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is an area of work dominated by women, and an employment sector which is persistently low paid and lowly regarded. As governments across the world begin to recognise the importance of this area of work, particularly for their most vulnerable citizens, it is an important moment to critically analyse the sector in terms of worker value and recognition. As a sector where mainly women work, this chapter utilises a feminist theoretical framework to unpick the injustice of vital work which is undervalued. In going beyond critique the chapter also proposes actions which can be taken to address inequality, namely consciousness raising, unionisation, and professionalisation. The aim is to provide practitioners and aspiring practitioners with a critical analysis of gendered inequality within ECEC work, and to empower them to address this.
