A Brief Introduction to Global Care Chains

What is a  global care chain?

The term ‘global care chain’ was coined by American sociologist Arlie Hochschild in 2002. Her definition is as follows: “a series of personal links between people across the globe based on the paid or unpaid work of caring.” (Hochschild, 34-35) While this is not a completely novel phenomenon, there has been a notable increase in women who migrate and the coining of the term allowed for new analyses that provided a multifaceted approach. Initially, men were the ones in the family to migrate for a better opportunity to care for the children, but as domestic work began to be the more lucrative option, women began to be the ones to migrate in order to provide for their families. Without a solution provided by the systems that create the problem of women being unable to find work that will pay enough for them to sustain themselves and their families, these women are essentially forced to migrate to care for other people’s children and homes in other countries.

The short video below explains the various links involved in global care chains along with some possible solutions.