Towards a Framework for the Analysis of Inclusive Equality in Care Policies: Investigating Long-Term Care Policies in Ireland and Italy

The analysis of the post-adoption policies is increasingly at the fore of feminist research agenda. Drawing on feminist and social policy scholarship, this article develops an analytical framework to analyse the multidimensionality of Long-Term Care (LTC) policies in practice based on the extent they provide four types of rights: the right to perform care (R1); the right to opt-out of caring (R2); 3) the right to be cared (R3); the rights of care workers (R4). While these rights are often portrayed as conflicting, only long-term care reforms simultaneously advancing all four rights promote inclusive equality. By incorporating these perspectives in a unified framework, we aim to understand the interplay between the gender, class and age bias of welfare states in shaping policy outputs and outcomes of LTC policies. The potential of this framework for the analysis of care policies in practice is explored by investigating the organization of Long-term care policies in Ireland and Italy.