중고령기 여성의 파견형 돌봄노동 재해석

Review on home-visiting care-work of middle-aged women: class immobility and discrimination

Care is a growing concern in welfare states and an ever more frequent issue of social policy reform. As a central core of the relationship between state and dependent citizen, and as a barometer of the balance of the public and private worlds within a society, social care system in Korea has recently been challenged. This paper critically reviews the current work conditions and inferior situation in the labor market of care-work, especially home-visiting work performed by middle-aged women. It appears that the possibility of new post-industrial underclass based on occupational hierarchy, once emphasized by Esping-Andersen(1993), is shown in Korea too. This exploratory study illuminates the hidden implications regarding social mobility, and potential long-term side effects of recent care-work developments may cause. To prevent the social closure or social immobility brought about discriminatory practices and inappropriate treatments for care-workers, comprehensive policy reforms including wage system are urgently needed.