A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book
Vulnerabilities in care work: perspectives of migrant and LGBT care workers in Finland
Authors: Suominen, Tytti; Lehtonen, Jukka; Jyrkinen, Marjut; Lohikoski, Liina
Editors: Sophie Bowlby, Marjut Jyrkinen, Mandisa Malinga, Kathy Sanderson
Publisher: Policy Press
Publication year: 2025
Book title : Vulnerabilities in Paid Care Work: Transnational Experiences, Insight and Voices
First page : 108
Last page: 138
ISBN: 978-1-4473-7303-2
eISBN: 978-1-4473-7305-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447373056.ch005
Web address : https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447373056.ch005
This chapter discusses the concept of vulnerability in the context of care work in Finland. The focus is on migrant and LGBT care workers (LGBT is used when referring to this group of research participants to reflect the terms they used themselves), particularly practical nurses. The source material was produced in several parts. The foreign-background practical nurses took part in a photovoice project in 2023. The LGBT participants were reached via a survey and email interviews in 2021 and 2022. Vulnerability is understood as a systemic issue, not an individual peril. The analysis is based on a framework developed by Brown et al in 2017. Inspired by the framework, vulnerability is analysed through adversity, corporality, agency and entitlement. The chapter produces knowledge on what it is like to be a practical nurse in Finland. Due to the research design and timing, the LGBT participants emphasised the adversities and the participants with foreign background emphasised their own agency. Both minorities experience discrimination and fear of discrimination, which affects their experiences at work.