Workplace Breastfeeding As Foodwork In Organizational Settings: Advancing Knowledge From Black, Low-Income Women In South Africa
研究南非33位黑人低收入职场母亲的深度访谈数据，揭示母乳喂养作为食物劳动与有偿工作之间的冲突，并提出改善职场支持的建议。
The cessation of breastfeeding by low-income mothers returning to work is a feminist concern. Our research advances knowledge from the Global South to extend understanding of breastfeeding at work as a form of foodwork in organizational settings. A major reason for breastfeeding cessation is the conflict between this foodwork labor and the physical labor of paid employment. In-depth interview data from 33 black low-income working mothers in South Africa were analyzed through an intersectional lens of race, gender, and social class. The findings yield both struggles and innovations in the mothers’ attempts to combine nourishing their children with paid employment. The paper explores three themes: (1) the labor of breastfeeding within contexts of low-income earning, (2) gender and social class norms shaping childcare and foodwork, and (3) local knowledge about foodwork and employment. We present recommendations for improving workplace support for low-income mothers’ breastfeeding efforts, and for advancing gender equity.