Bustillos Durán, S. & Rincones Delgado, R. (2024). Inequality, gender, poverty, and care work. El Colegio de Chihuahua: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. 167 pages.

Abstract

The book *Inequality, Gender, Poverty, and
Care Work* makes a valuable contribution to
understanding the structural dynamics that
sustain inequality in Latin America.
Published in 2024 and adopting an
interdisciplinary approach, the book integrates
elements from sociology, feminist economics,
anthropology, and gender studies to examine
how the social organization of care serves as
a central axis explaining the persistence of
poverty and the reproduction of gender
inequalities. It posits that care is not merely
a sectoral issue but a cross-cutting component
essential for interpreting the functioning of
economies, public policies, and gender
relations. A fundamental premise of this work is that
inequalities are neither isolated nor merely
situational phenomena; rather, they are the
result of historical, cultural, and political
processes that have assigned distinct roles and
positions to men and women. These processes
have naturalized female subordination and
the devaluation of care work—in contrast to
the economic, social, and political recognition
accorded to paid labor, which has traditionally
been linked to the public and masculine spheres.