Abstract

CELI MEDINA, Patricia  and  EZQUERRA SAMPER, Sandra. The role of elderly-care community services in the democratization of care in Barcelona. Rev. interdiscip. estud. género Col. Méx. [online]. 2020, vol.6, e485.  Epub Apr 20, 2020. ISSN 2395-9185.  https://doi.org/10.24201/reg.v6i0.485.

Community care services for the elderly, supported by the Barcelona City Council in its commitment to the democratization of care, are spaces designed to complement the care provided by families, the public administrations and the private sector. It is within this context that we analyze both the potential and the limitations of community-based experiences to support the redistribution of care for the elderly to all social actors and to reduce gender inequalities within the provision of their care. A qualitative methodology and the method of two case studies of community care, as well as secondary data analysis on a public care service were used. The results demonstrate the potential of community spaces to socially redistribute the attention to the elderly’s relational needs. However, at a more practical level these spaces do not question the sexual division of labor and the prevalence of families’ centrality in the social organization of care.

Keywords : Elderly; community care; care economy; democratization of care; socialization of care; sexual division of labor.