Surfacing Gender: Designing Care Homes for Women in All Their Diversity

Pat Armstrong and Susan Braedley ()
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Pat Armstrong: Departments of Sociology and Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Susan Braedley: School of Social Work, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Reflecting on findings from over ten years of research, four studies, and a focused two-day workshop, this article argues that it is past time to surface gender as a critical consideration in reimagining care homes to create conditions of dignity and respect for residents, workers, and families in all their diversity. Considering care homes as an indicator of equity in welfare states, we deploy a concept of gender that acknowledges the relationship between bodies and social relations, and an inclusive concept of women that interrogates the differences among women. We outline the reasons that make care homes a women’s issue, explaining why women are the majority of care home residents and staff across jurisdictions in high-income countries. We draw insights from our workshop and research studies to discuss how gender is both ignored and embedded in care home design and offer considerations and possibilities for designing care homes for women in all their diversity.

Keywords: gender; equity; diversity; care homes; women; work; care; nursing homes; bodies; aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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