equality issues relating to older people, transnational care and global care chains

Abstract

This chapter explores equality issues involving older people and care in the context of transnational families and migrant care labour. Equality remains one of the ideals of citizenship for most liberal states, and an equality lens is frequently applied to issues raised by ageing and family care within states. For transnational families, whose members live across international borders, issues involving ageing and family care are more complex. Moreover, the experiences of transnational families are rarely examined from the perspective of equality, because such families are subject to the constraints of immigration and settlement policy. This chapter asks how the idea of equality can illuminate discussions of transnational ageing, family care and migration. It argues that the regulation of international mobility acts as a great barrier to equality in the context of transnational ageing, in particular for ageing adults relying on cross-border care provided by their adult migrant children and for grandparents who, as temporary migrant visitors, provide unpaid care for grandchildren. It also argues that affluent countries, which draw in migrant workers to support their ageing populations, contribute to family dispersal and separation, without paying enough attention to the resulting inequalities.