If a society is judged on its ability to care for those who need support, what does it mean to turn caring into profit? Caring is one of the most pressing concerns for anyone who is a parent, ageing, less able, and/or looking after anyone who needs support, yet it is often taken for granted as an activity.
To celebrate May Day the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity, based at the International Inequalities Institute, explored how the Labour of Care - the often-ignored activity of caring for another person and it’s future role in social, political, and economic life. This event focused the consequences for care when the most basic human/e pursuit has been turned into a “for profit” activity. What happens when a basic social emotion is monetised? What does this mean for the future of humanity?
Panelist
Professor Lydia Hayes
Lydia Hayes is a Professor of Labour Rights at the University of Liverpool and specialist in minimum labour standards; their formulation, enforcement, and violation.
Panelist
Kevin Lucas
Kevin Lucas is the Regional Manager for UNISON North West, where he runs the Care Workers Campaign.
Panelist
Professor Nicola Lacey
Nicola Lacey is the School Professor of Law, Gender and Social Policy at the LSE Law School and a Faculty Associate at the LSE International Inequalities Institute. From 1998 to 2010 she held a Chair in Criminal Law and Legal Theory at LSE; she returned to LSE in 2013 after spending three years as Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, and Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Theory at the University of Oxford. Nicola's research is in criminal law and criminal justice, with a particular focus on comparative and historical scholarship.
Panelist
Professor Insa Koch
Insa Koch holds the Chair of British Cultures at the University of Sankt Gallen. Previously she was Associate Professor in Law and Anthropology at the LSE. Trained as both an anthropologist and as a lawyer, Insa works on topics including the democratic crisis and populist movements, processes of inequality, the welfare state and the criminal justice system. She is committed to engaging diverse publics in her research, and combines advocacy work with ethnographic research.
Chair
Professor Bev Skeggs
Bev Skeggs is a Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University and a Former AFSEE Academic Director. She is one of the foremost feminist sociologists in the world, and has a wealth of experience addressing the multi-dimensional nature of inequality. Her book Formations of Class and Gender (1997) has been profoundly significant in drawing attention to the intersections between class and gender inequality, as experienced by working class young women dealing with the vulnerabilities of daily life in harsh conditions.
Banner Image: Photo by imagesthai.com from Pexels
