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Care full deliberation? Care work and Ireland’s citizens’ assembly on gender equality

Authors

Loughnane, C., Kelleher, C. and Edwards, C.

Year
2023
Journal Name
Critical Social Policy
Category
Journal Article
Keywords
care, care crisis, citizens’ assemblies, gender equality
Full Citation

Loughnane, C., Kelleher, C. and Edwards, C. (2023) ‘Care full deliberation? Care work and Ireland’s citizens’ assembly on gender equality’, Critical Social Policy 43(4): 697-717.

https://doi.org/10.1177/02610183231169195

Link to Publication
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02610183231169195

Abstract

Ireland has become an international exemplar in the use of citizens’ assemblies to determine policy. Globally, deliberative fora seek to mitigate concerns of a democratic crisis, but they also may address the ‘care crisis’, where politics-as-normal seems unable, or unwilling, to address citizens’ care needs. Drawing on Tronto's (2013) call for a caring democracy in which citizens take their responsibilities to care with one another, this paper examines the potential for deliberative processes to deliberate ‘with’ as well as ‘about’ care and to expand current care work debates. Using Barnes’ (2012) ‘care full’ deliberation as an analytic framework, we document and interrogate the process and outcomes of Ireland's Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality (CAGE) (2020–21), particularly how it understood care work and responded to care workers’ needs. We then reflect on the potential for citizen deliberation to realise better caring outcomes for all citizens.

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