Who Cares?
Feminised care labour and the crisis of social reproduction in post-socialist Bulgaria
LevFem
This report on the working conditions, experiences, and struggles of those employed in the care work sector of Bulgaria presents data from a qualitative research project conducted between January and September 2024 across various fields — education, healthcare, and care for the elderly, children, and people with disabilities.
The study aims to identify some of the problems characteristic of the care sector and to raise public awareness of the feminized and “naturalized” nature of the unique work of care workers, their extraordinary workload, which is not remunerated or valued according to its importance for the maintenance and reproduction of society. We also pay particular attention to certain features of the sector that make it more difficult, but also very necessary, to mobilise and seek common labour rights for care workers. We identify healthcare, social care and education as parts of the care sector.
For the report
Authors: Mariya Ivancheva, Stoyanka Eneva, Stoyo Tetevenski, Neli Konstantinova,
Alesandriya Angelova, Darina Kokonova, Kalina Drenska
Scientific editor: Neda Deneva
Expert editor: Nina Bankova
Ethics Approval: University Ethics Committee, University of Strathclyde: UEC24/25 Ivancheva
Translator: Margarita Spasova
Copy-Edit: David O’Kane
Design and layout: Vladimir Vatkov
Cover illustration: Boryana Rossa
This report was funded by the Economic Opportunities Fund of the Alliance for Gender Equality in Europe. It is not intended for commercial use, and its sale and/or resale is prohibited. The report does not reflect the views of the funding organisation, which bears no responsibility for its content.
ISBN: 978-619-92174-5-0 © LevFem, 2025, Sofia