Reform policies and distribution struggles in the eldercare sector in Germany

The poor working conditions of care workers within Germany’s eldercare sector have resulted in a series of reforms. Employing a conceptual framework that combines feminist perspectives on the devaluation of care work, Fraser’s concept of recognition and redistribution, and Honneth’s concept of distribution struggles, this article assesses whether these reforms have increased the social status of this undervalued sector. The findings indicate that these reforms have both positively and negatively impacted the social status of eldercare work – a phenomenon that this article links to the contradictory influence of the state, trade unions and provider associations during distribution struggles.