New Books in History Alexandra Ghiț, "Welfare Work Without Welfare: Women and Austerity in Interwar Bucharest" (De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2025)
Dec 18, 2025
Alexandra Ghiț, a historian focusing on women's labor history in Central and Eastern Europe, dives into her research on interwar Bucharest. She reveals how women became essential social workers during economic hardships, juggling paid and unpaid labor. The discussion highlights the role of women in shaping municipal welfare policies, the impact of transnational influences on social work, and the precarious nature of domestic labor. Ghiț also explores the intersection of ethnicity, respectability, and the dynamics of aid provision, offering a fresh perspective on gender and welfare.
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Mariara's Home-Based Struggle
- Mariara, a 33-year-old single mother, made leather shoe parts at home on two sewing machines to support her family.
- A social worker's case file from November 1929 reveals her sickness, debt, and reliance on piecemeal aid from charities and neighbors.
Patchwork Welfare, Not A Public System
- Interwar Bucharest relied on a state-subsidized but privately run patchwork of charities rather than comprehensive public welfare.
- Women activists and small-scale organizations filled gaps because public funding was limited and fragmented.
Gendered Labor Patterns And Pay Gap
- Women worked in distinct sectors: domestic service, home-based piecework, and growing industrial employment, often mixing paid and unpaid care labor.
- Even when employed in factories, women's wages were roughly half men's and their jobs were shaped by childcare and pregnancy constraints.