Wages for Housework A History of an International Feminist Movement, 1972-77

Revolutionary feminism is resurging across the world. But what were its origins? In the early 1970s, the International Feminist Collective began to organise around the call for recognition of the different forms of labour performed by women. They paved the way for the influential and controversial feminist campaign 'Wages for Housework' which made great strides towards driving debates in social reproduction and the gendered aspects of labour.

Drawing on extensive archival research, Louise Toupin looks at the history of this movement between 1972 and 1977, featuring unpublished conversations with some of its founders including Silvia Federici and Mariarosa Dalla Costa, as well as activists from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Canada. Encompassing rich theoretical traditions, including autonomism, anti-colonialism and feminism, whilst challenging both classical Marxism and the mainstream women's movement, the book highlights the power and originality of the campaign. 

Among their many innovations, these pathbreaking activists approached gender, sexuality, race and class together in a way that anticipated intersectionality and had a radical new understanding of sex work.

List of Illustrations
Introduction: A Political and Personal History
Part 1: The International Feminist Collective – Historical Overview and Political Perspective
1. 1972: Wages for Housework in the Universe of Feminism
2. A Wage as a Lever for Power: The Political Perspective
3. The International Feminist Collective, 1972–77 
Part 2: Mobilizations around Women’s Invisible Work
Overview
4. Mobilizations around Women’s Invisible Work in the Home
5. Mobilizations around Women’s Invisible Work outside the Home
6. Mobilizations by Groups on the Periphery of the Network: Lohn für Hausarbeit in Berlin and Collectif L’Insoumise in Geneva 
Conclusion
Afterword – From Yesterday to Today: The Intellectual Journeys of Mariarosa Dalla Costa and Silvia Federici, from 1977 to 2013
Interview with Mariarosa Dalla Costa
Interview with Silvia Federici
Acknowledgments
Notes