Sammanfattning
Care work is to a high degree equivalent with female work and has not, to any great extent, been of interest to traditional social sciences. Women's studies has however changed this. This article reviews this discussion; the concepts of care and ethics are linked and given feminine content. With reference to studies within the authors' research programme: "Care for the elderly: conditions and everyday realities", results are then reviewed that show how organizational, political and ideological relationships affect the content and quality of care. Finally, European social policy trends and the consequences of new systems of paying for care are discussed from a gender perspective.