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A Hitchhiker's Guide to caring for an older person before and during coronavirus‐19

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  • Lynne F. Baxter

Abstract

Coronavirus‐19 (COVID‐19) has reconfigured working lives with astonishing velocity. Older people have suffered the worst effects of the pandemic, with governments marginalizing or overlooking their needs. Women perform the majority of care for older people, often compromising their working lives and health. Yet in academic articles their voices are often filtered or aggregated in quantitative studies. Based on a weave of personal experiences and secondary research, the article traces a path through UK forms of care and shows how the inadequate response to COVID‐19 stemmed from existing policies embedded in health and social care. COVID‐19 has severed important informal care work, rendering the vulnerable yet more exposed and carers anxious and bereft. Longitudinal research capturing the trajectory of care from the perspective of older people and their carers would lead to improved support hence gender equality.

Suggested Citation

  • Lynne F. Baxter, 2020. "A Hitchhiker's Guide to caring for an older person before and during coronavirus‐19," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 763-773, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:27:y:2020:i:5:p:763-773
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12470
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Van Houtven, Courtney Harold & Coe, Norma B. & Skira, Meghan M., 2013. "The effect of informal care on work and wages," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 240-252.
    2. Katherine Ravenswood & Candice Harris, 2016. "Doing Gender, Paying Low: Gender, Class and Work–Life Balance in Aged Care," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(6), pages 614-628, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rita A. Gardiner & Katy Fulfer, 2021. "Virus interruptus: An Arendtian exploration of political world‐building in pandemic times," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(S1), pages 151-162, January.
    2. Yuchen Han, 2021. "The politics of kitchen work: Co‐production of a retired man's “hegemonic masculinity” during the COVID‐19 quarantine," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 1876-1884, September.

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