| Description |
The 2007 EC Report “Tackling Multiple Discrimination” addressed for the first time at the EU level the issue of intersectionality, an approach that seeks to understand several forms of discrimination (based on gender, “race”/ethnicity, class and so forth) as the results of intersecting biases rather than of single sources of inequality. This represents a significant step towards increasing awareness of the interrelation of different types of discrimination, enabling policy makers to tackle it in a more effective manner. This research project, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines intersectionality theory and “racial-sexual contract” analysis, aims to contribute to this debate by focusing on gender and “race”/ethnicity biases in the care-domestic labour sector in the UK. It is of the greatest importance to consider the combined impact of gender and “racial”/ethnic factors on a labour market that has witnessed dramatic growth in the participation of women of ethnic minority background across all EU Member States in recent years. The study of the care-domestic sector in the UK is of particular interest due to the more advanced and articulated character of this phenomenon in the UK, and the responses it has elicited on both the policy and theoretical level. The research project introduces the new concept of “intersectional contract” and operationalizes it for empirical research. A mixed-method approach is employed, including the gathering of quantitative data, qualitative in-depth interviews with key actors (domestic placement agencies’ owners, employers, employees and policy makers), and critical discourse analysis of regulations and policy documents. This research project will consolidate the researcher’s profile as an expert sociologist of gender and migration, enable the acquisition of new competencies and interdisciplinary skills and position the researcher as a leading scholar of themes of current dramatic socio-economic relevance.
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