Chiara Giordano

Chiara Giordano holds a PhD in Economic Sociology and Labour Studies, which she has accomplished in co-tutorship between the University of Milan and the University of Brussels. She also holds a master’s degree in Gender Studies. She is currently working as a chargée de recherches FNRS at the Group for Research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality (GERME) of the University of Brussels (ULB).

The project

Title: “Round-the-clock home care services for older people in Brussels: the impact of public policies, family structures and gender roles”

"The demand for older care services is increasing in all European countries, due to economic, demographic and social changes, such as the ageing of the population, the increased female participation in the labour market, as well as changes in family structures and in attitudes towards the gendered division of labour. In a situation of a high degree of dependency, especially when the older person needs 24-hour assistance, the choice between residential care and round-the-clock home care is often determined by a combination of factors, where economic reasons are only part of the explanation. This research aims to explore the formalisation of round-the-clock home care services for older people in Belgium, the use of these services by older people/families, and the reasons that drive families to choose these options, among those available to them. Considering the specific context of Belgium – characterised by a mixed long-term care system (LTC), which combines extensive publicly financed services with the fundamental role of the family, on the one hand, and a progressive ‘gender contract’ and the recognition of de facto cohabitation and marriage for same-sex couples, on the other hand – specific attention is paid to public policies, family structures and gender roles. This will allow to shed light on the impact that public policies and the negotiation of gender roles in different family structures (with a focus on same-sex couples) have on the vision of older care and on the use of paid round-the-clock services."

Hosting institution: Sciences Po - Centre de recherche sur les inégalités sociales – CRIS

Selective Bibliography

• Giordano C. (2022). Ethnicisation and Domesticisation. The impact of care, gender and migration regimes on paid domestic work in Europe. “Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship”, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Giordano C. (2022). Home care service providers in Brussels: time adjustments during COVID-19 and the consequences for frontline home care workers. In International Journal of Care and Caring, https://doi.org/10.1332/239788221X16613786250698 .
• Giordano C. (2021). Home care services for the elderly in Belgium: is professionalisation decreasing gender and ethnic segregation and discrimination in the sector? In Comas d’Argemir and Bofill (eds.), El cuidado de mayores y dependientes. Avanzando hacia la igualdad de género y la justiciar social. Barcelona: Icaria Editorial.
• Giordano C. (2021). The ‘care mix’ adopted by Belgian families and the growing presence of migrant workers in old age care in Belgium. In Horn V. et al. (eds.), The Global Old Age Care Industry - Tapping into migrants for tackling the old age care crisis. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Giordano C. (2021). Freedom or money? The dilemma of migrant live‐in elderly carers in times of COVID‐19. In Gender, Work & Organization, 28(S1), 137-150, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12509.