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Why do we assume women care?

Professor of Sociology, Tina Miller asks whether society and its structures are still trapping women in caring roles, both paid and unpaid, while men are kept out.

In spite of progress on men's involvement in childcare the statistics show that women are still doing far more caring of young children. That is extended throughout life to the caring of ill and elderly relatives. And 82 per cent of people working in social care jobs are women. Professor of Sociology at Oxford Brookes University Tina Miller asks to what extent women are still trapped by society and its structures, such as who gets paid parental leave, into caring roles and whether we simply assume that women will care? But as she finds out, in much later life the roles can be reversed. She asks what needs to change in order for men to take on more caring responsibility earlier on.

Producer Caroline Bayley
Editor Clare Fordham
Sound Engineer: Neva Missirian
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Helena Warwick-Cross

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28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Mon 14 Nov 2022 20:30
  • Sun 20 Nov 2022 21:30

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