Care, gender and employment: changing times, changing methods

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, the authors have collaborated with Julia Brannen on five major research studies: the Day Care Project in the 1980s; the study of Four Generation Families at the turn of the millennium; the Care Careers Project in the mid 2000s; and, most recently, Fathers across Three Generations and the Food Practices and Employed Families with Younger Children studies. This article offers an overview of the studies, situating them in their particular historical contexts and the important economic and social changes that have taken place in these contexts. It shows how the theme of the relationship between care, gender and employment has run through all five studies, and also how two complementary themes – intergenerational relationships and the role of fathers – have gained increased prominence, as has the concept of time particularly across the life course. It examines how Julia’s approach to researching the relationship between care and employment has changed over the course of the studies, including evolving conceptualisations and time frames and the introduction and use of new methods.

Keywords:

• care
• gender
• employment
• mixed methods
• biographical approach

Notes

1. We have indicated which of the authors of this article worked with Julia on each study; other colleagues at TCRU made important contributions in all cases.

2. Maternity leave was only introduced in the UK in 1976. Under the initial scheme, women were entitled to 40 weeks maternity leave if they had worked for the same employer for at least two years, but only 18 weeks were paid and mostly at a low flat-rate.