Paper long abstract:

Forms of solidarity emerging from the domestication of technological innovations are linked to moral values and to particular types of gender relations. This paper presents a research perspective for exploring informal care through the lens of gender-technology relations. Due to the significance of gender for the organization of care and specifically informal care, it is important to extend the analysis of gender-technology relations from professional to informal care. Thus, gender is analysed as social process, mutually shaping with technology in the development of forms of solidarity. The proposed approach conceptualizes gender-technology relations as part of processes of domestication of technology. Informal care in later life includes the combination of various types of technologies: not care-specific everyday technology, technology developed to support independent living in later life and technology which is also used in professional care. The presented research perspective focuses on exploring the mutual shaping of gender and these different technologies in informal care as linked to moral values.