Shelter, mobility path? Female micro-worlds of public works

Case study

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reveal the meanings and significance of public work programmes from the perspective of women engaged in public employment. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in a charitable organization and a church kindergarten established by the organization, the paper argues that personal relations in which public work is embedded play a significant role in mitigating the essentially precarious situation of female public workers. Personal relations provide women with a family-like workplace atmosphere, emotional support, recognition and a sense of self-esteem. Charity, i.e. helping people in need, is the core of women’s stories as a Christian obligation and daily practice. In addition, help for Roma women also means the individual assistance and support they receive from the head of the charitable organization. While interpreting their own situations, women draw symbolic boundaries between different forms of public work programmes in terms of working conditions, recognition and stigmatization of work. The ultimate goal of boundary-making is to emphasise their relatively better position in the hierarchy of precarious life situations and maintain their selfesteem, dignity and integrity.