Wages for Housework

Domestic Labor, Unpaid Labor, Feminist Economics, Women’s Liberation, Economic Justice, Care Work, Gender Inequality, Feminist Activism, Lesbian Identity, Intersectional Feminism

This episode of Women’s Studies, hosted by Viv Sutherland, features a taped interview by Marjorie Collins with Selma James, founder of the Wages for Housework movement. James discusses the economic exploitation of women’s unpaid domestic labor, the hierarchies within capitalism that devalue care work, and the need for international solidarity among women demanding wages for housework. She connects women’s financial independence to personal liberation, equality in relationships, and freedom of sexual and emotional expression, including lesbian identity. The episode concludes with live listener call-ins responding to James’s ideas about women’s labor, dependency, and social change.

WBAI Radio

Viv Sutherland