Essential Work: Using A Social Reproduction Lens to Investigate the Re-Organisation of Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Main author: Stevano, Sara
Other authors: Ali, Rosimina
Jamieson, Merle
Format: Monographs and Working Papers           
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id eprints-35135
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description COVID-19 has shaken a foundational pillar of global capitalism: the organisation of work. Whilst workers have commonly been categorised based on skills, during the pandemic the ‘essential worker’ categorisation has taken prominence. This paper explores the concept of essential work from a global feminist social reproduction perspective. The global perspective is complemented by a zoom-in on Mozambique as a low-income country in the Global South, occupying a peripheral position in global and regional economies and with a large share of vulnerable and essential workers. We show that the meaning of essential work is more ambiguous and politicised than it may appear and, although it can be used as a basis to reclaim the value of socially reproductive work, its transformative potential hinges on the possibility to encompass the most precarious and transnational dimensions of (re)production
format Monographs and Working Papers
author Stevano, Sara
author_facet Stevano, Sara
Ali, Rosimina
Jamieson, Merle
authorStr Stevano, Sara
author_letter Stevano, Sara
author2 Ali, Rosimina
Jamieson, Merle
author2Str Ali, Rosimina
Jamieson, Merle
title Essential Work: Using A Social Reproduction Lens to Investigate the Re-Organisation of Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic
publisher SOAS Department of Economics Working Paper No. 241
publishDate 2021
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/35135/

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