The Wages for Housework Campaign

The Wages for Housework Campaign chronicles the international feminist movement that emerged in the 1970s demanding payment for domestic labor. Federici documents the origins, key figures, and evolution of this revolutionary campaign that challenged traditional definitions of work. The book draws from extensive archival materials, including manifestos, meeting minutes, and correspondence from activists across Italy, Britain, and the United States. Federici examines how the movement connected reproductive labor to capitalist exploitation and sparked debates about the nature of housework. Through organizational documents and first-hand accounts, the text traces the campaign's development from local grassroots efforts to an international network of feminist collectives. The narrative follows the movement's strategies, internal debates, and interactions with other social justice causes of the era. This historical account illuminates enduring questions about gender, labor, and economic justice that remain relevant to contemporary feminist discourse. The book positions the Wages for Housework Campaign as a crucial moment in the ongoing struggle to recognize and value domestic work.

Readers describe this book as a detailed account of the 1970s feminist movement focused on compensating domestic labor. Many note its value in documenting grassroots organizing tactics and strategies. Liked: - Clear explanation of campaign's theoretical foundations - Personal accounts from movement participants - Documentation of international activism networks - Connects historical movement to current debates - Quality of archival photographs and materials Disliked: - Dense academic language in some sections - Limited coverage of movement's later years - Could include more about opposition/critics - Some redundancy between chapters Ratings: Goodreads: 4.5/5 (89 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (24 ratings) Notable review quotes: "Offers concrete examples of how feminist theory translated to action" - Goodreads reviewer "The archival materials alone make this worth reading" - Amazon reviewer "Would benefit from more analysis of the movement's shortcomings" - LibraryThing review

Revolution at Point Zero by Silvia Federici This work expands on feminist theory and unpaid labor through essays that connect domestic work to capitalism and global economics.

The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community by Mariarosa Dalla Costa, Selma James The text presents foundational arguments for recognizing housework as integral to capitalist production and women's oppression.

Women's Work, Men's Property by Stephanie Coontz and Peta Henderson This anthropological study traces the historical development of women's unpaid labor and its relationship to private property systems.

Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici The book links the development of capitalism to the persecution of women and the transformation of the female body into a work-machine.

The Arcane of Reproduction by Leopoldina Fortunati This theoretical work examines how reproductive labor functions within capitalist systems through a Marxist feminist lens.

🏠 The book documents how the Wages for Housework movement challenged the traditional economic view that housework wasn't "real work" by demanding payment for domestic labor during the 1970s feminist movement. ✍️ Silvia Federici wrote this book after being a key organizer in the original campaign, bringing firsthand experience and insider knowledge to her historical account. ⚡ The movement sparked heated debates within feminist circles, with some arguing that wages would institutionalize women's role in the home while others saw it as a path to recognition and autonomy. 🌍 The campaign spread from Italy to England, Germany, and North America, becoming one of the first truly international feminist movements of the modern era. 💰 The monetary value of unpaid household work, which the campaign sought to highlight, is estimated today at between 10% and 39% of global GDP according to the UN's International Labour Organization.