[1] It refers to occupations that provide services to help people develop their capabilities, or the ability to pursue aspects of their lives that they value.

[4] The study of care work, linked to the fields of feminist economics and feminist legal theory, is associated with scholars who include Marilyn Waring, Nancy Folbre, Martha Albertson Fineman, Paula England, Maria Floro, Diane Elson, Caren Grown, and Virginia Held.

Without care and nurturing, it is thought that children cannot develop into high-functioning individuals and will have difficulty as adults maintaining (or expanding) their well-being and productivity.

[3] Actively-involved child care provided in the home or by the public or private sector contributes to the development of healthy, productive children.

Because domestic work is in the private sphere and typically performed by women, it was often depicted as an "act of love" or rewarding in itself.

The comparative willingness of women to perform unpaid care work has contributed to the poor compensation received by people in care-based professions.

[6] Women have a heavier burden of care work in the home than men do, largely due to differences in gender socialization and historical and cultural tradition.

[15] The creation of separate spheres, public and private, in the nineteenth century contributed to the belief that caring was incompatible with the workplace and belonged to the family only.

Women tend to find more opportunities in unpaid care work if they are unable to enter the paid workforce.

Individuals without a college degree may not meet the requirements of many jobs, and much of the world population is unable to attend school due to caring for elderly or sick family members.

People are living longer, and there are fewer siblings to share elder care than there were during the mid-20th century baby boom.

In 2002, sociologist Paula England conducted a study that revealed, after controlling for skill demands, educational requirements, industry, and gender, a net penalty of five to 10 percent for working in an occupation involving care; one exception was nursing, which did not seem to experience the pay penalty of other care work.

The standard economic argument is that public goods will be under-provided by markets because there is no way to capture (and turn into profits) benefits of social interaction.

These results suggest that the more that pay is combined with trust and appreciation, the less it drives out genuine intrinsic motivation (especially important in care work).

Problems with reporting can be minimized through a time diary, in which respondents describe activities performed the previous day; responses are then standardized for analytical purposes.

This model focuses on removing developmental distortions from feminization of care, such as symbiotic mothering or paternal neglect.

In 1989, Sara Arber et al. referred to men as "the forgotten carers" and found that they have a larger share of care work than is often recognized.

[33][34] Care work, disproportionately performed by women and often unpaid, highlights the importance of gender in economic policy.

The care work in question can be provided to children, animals, the elderly, the sick, the mentally challenged, the learning-incapable, and others with similar disabilities.

[37] The reduction in compensation is not attributable to working fewer hours; mothers with families are often overlooked for advancement opportunities.

[39] Brandeis University research demonstrated that about 66 percent of caregivers lost career opportunities, such as training, due to care obligations.

[43] Gerda Learner's research on the history of women has identified patriarchy (institutionalized male dominance) as a human-devised social institution which originated during the Bronze Age.

Until the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote, female interests were thought to be represented through male political participation.

[46] Institutionalized patriarchy has limited female agency in the public sector by concentrating political and economic power among men.

[46] Braunstein and Folbre cite Gary Becker's rotten-kid theorem as refuting the idea that a woman's interests can be adequately represented by her husband.

Recognition of what they call the "non-benevolent patriarch"[46] debunks the idea that women can be adequately represented by a single head of household; families have a myriad of interests not always manifested in one member's actions.

According to Braunstein and Folbre, the hierarchical relationship produced by the patriarchal system allocates care work to women.

Braunstein and Folbre demonstrate that more egalitarian families, where men and women have comparable economic resources, distribute care work more efficiently than patriarchal structures with asymmetrical concentrations of power.

[46] Public policy can be interpreted as covertly enforcing patriarchy by discriminating against single-parent households and encouraging a patriarchal family structure based on a primary income earner and an unpaid care laborer.

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in the U.S. cites, among its goals, ending pregnancy outside marriage and promoting two-parent households.