What Makes Work Meaningful (A Feminist Intervention)

12:00 PM ET Thu., Apr. 24, 2025

Why does care work feel fulfilling on some days, and infuriating on others? What could success look like if we divorce it from individualism and achievement? In this episode, listen in to a conversation with Paul Blaschko ’19 Ph.D., Director of the Sheedy Family Program and assistant teaching professor in philosophy at Notre Dame, about how feminist thinkers are reworking western definitions of meaning and success. We’ll consider Ursula Le Guin’s 1982 New Yorker short story “Sur” to illustrate.

Women’s Work is sponsored on ThinkND by the Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise & Society at the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Women Connect.

Women’s Work series delivered on its promise of intellectual provocation with a wide-ranging and deeply reflective episode exploring gender, philosophy, and the meaning of labor in American society. Hosted by Dr. Chris Hedlin, Associate Director of Notre Dame’s Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise, and Society, and joined by Dr. Paul Blaschko, a philosopher of virtue ethics and the philosophy of work, the conversation unpacked feminist theory, cultural assumptions, and the everyday realities of women’s labor—both paid and unpaid.

Setting the Stage for Big Questions

Hedlin opened the episode by framing Women’s Work as a space for interrogating how labor becomes gendered. Why are certain roles seen as “women’s work”? How is labor depicted in literature and culture? And how are female writers and philosophers reshaping the narrative of meaningful work? These questions, central to the Sheedy Family Program’s interdisciplinary mission, grounded the episode’s inquiry across history, philosophy, and lived experience.

Philosophy of Work: Framing the Inquiry

Blaschko offered a succinct and compelling introduction to the philosophy of work, positioning it within virtue ethics—the study of how to live well and flourish. He shared questions that guide his teaching and research: What is work? How do we distinguish it from leisure or play? Why do so many people tie self-worth to career success? These reflections set the philosophical tone for a conversation that challenged mainstream definitions of meaning and success.

Feminist Perspectives and the Evolution of “Women’s Work”

Together, the speakers traced the shifting cultural and historical meanings of “women’s work.” Blaschko explored the term’s evolution from its ancient association with managing the home (oikonomikos) to its idealization and restriction in the Victorian era, as reflected in the sentimental poem The Angel in the House. Virginia Woolf’s fierce rejection of that ideal—her call to “kill the angel in the house”—was presented as a pivotal feminist moment reclaiming agency and authorship.

The discussion also revisited the feminist movements of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly the “wages for housework” campaign. While this effort sought to economically validate unpaid labor, Hedlin noted critiques that warned against simply reinforcing domestic roles with pay. Drawing on bell hooks, she underscored how these debates often ignored the realities of Black women and working-class women who were never exempt from the labor market. The episode emphasized the need for an intersectional feminism—attuned to how race, class, and history shape access to dignity and choice in work.

The Challenge of Valuing Unpaid Labor

A central tension in the conversation was how society values caregiving and domestic work. Hedlin referenced Caroline Criado Perez, who advocates for incorporating unpaid labor into GDP calculations to shape better policy. Yet Blaschko offered a caution: while assigning economic value can aid recognition, it may flatten the deeper moral and emotional meaning of care. His own research—interviews with women reflecting on their labor—revealed that many view such work as “priceless,” beyond market logic. Recognition, they agreed, matters—but real value is not always quantifiable.

A Pluralistic Framework for Meaningful Work

One of the most illuminating moments of the episode was the discussion of Andrea Veltman’s pluralistic account of meaningful work, which both speakers teach. Veltman outlines four overlapping dimensions:

Human Capability – Work can cultivate unique skills or intellectual abilities.
Virtue Development – Work that nurtures traits like empathy, patience, or integrity carries deep meaning.
Purposefulness – Work is meaningful when it contributes to others or aligns with personal values.
Life Integration – When work harmonizes with one’s relationships, identity, and commitments, it becomes meaningful.

Using examples from caregiving to carpentry, they emphasized that context matters. Washing dishes, for instance, can be meaningful when done for a loved one—but dehumanizing when done in a thankless job. A throughline was agency: the ability to choose and have one’s labor acknowledged.

Literature and the Quiet Power of Intrinsic Meaning

Hedlin introduced Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story Sur, in which a secret group of women becomes the first to reach the South Pole—but choose not to publicize their feat. The story subverts dominant narratives of success by centering meaning over recognition. Blaschko praised the piece as a profound meditation on agency and self-defined achievement, a reminder that public acclaim is not the only—or even the best—measure of worth.

Why It Matters

The episode concluded with a call to both cultural and personal reflection. Blaschko emphasized that interrogating the meaning of work isn’t merely academic—it’s essential to living a flourishing life. In a society steeped in “achievementism,” pausing to question inherited assumptions allows us to realign work with values that actually matter.

An Invitation to Continue the Conversation

Listeners were encouraged to explore these questions further through Notre Dame’s Women’s Work course, alumni networks, and personal dialogue. True to the mission of ThinkND, the episode offered a space for thoughtful, inclusive exploration—challenging old frameworks and inviting new ones grounded in dignity, agency, and care.

Rethinking What Counts as Work
The episode opens with a compelling insight: much of what’s labeled “women’s work”—especially caregiving and domestic labor—has been historically undervalued and made invisible by dominant economic and cultural frameworks. The conversation calls on listeners to reconsider what counts as work and why.
Redefining Meaningful Work Beyond the Paycheck
Drawing from Dr. Andrea Veltman’s philosophical framework, the episode emphasizes that meaningful work isn’t limited to what earns a paycheck. Work is most fulfilling when it develops human capabilities, cultivates virtues, supports a sense of purpose, and integrates with one’s broader identity and relationships.
Gender, Labor, and the Politics of Recognition
Gender profoundly influences both who does what kind of work and how that work is perceived. Referencing bell hooks, the speakers explore how early feminist definitions of liberation often left out Black, working-class, and rural women—those who never had the privilege of not working. The takeaway: true liberation must be intersectional and inclusive.
The Limits of Economic Metrics
Should unpaid labor be included in GDP? While scholar Caroline Criado Perez advocates for this to make care work visible to policymakers, the episode wrestles with the deeper question: can economic metrics ever capture the full emotional and relational value of caregiving? Blaschko warns of reducing priceless labor to dollars and cents.
Questioning “Achievementism” Through Storytelling
Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story Sur serves as a powerful counter-narrative to conventional success. Its protagonists accomplish something extraordinary—becoming the first to reach the South Pole—but choose not to claim recognition. The story becomes a meditation on agency, humility, and why we crave validation, inviting listeners to question dominant ideals of accomplishment.
The Power of Critical Self-Reflection
The episode closes with an existential call: by questioning cultural assumptions about work, success, and gender—and engaging deeply with both philosophy and literature—we open space for more intentional, fulfilling lives. The message is clear: meaning isn’t given, it’s made, and it’s ours to define.

Challenging gendered assumptions about labor:
“Where did Americans get the idea that some forms of labor are properly ‘women’s work’? How is work gendered in literature? How are female writers and philosophers recasting what it means to do meaningful work?”
— Chris Hedlin [00:00:08 → 00:00:24]
Teaching as reflection and renewal:
“Every year, teaching this class gives me the chance to reexamine where I’m at with all these questions. It’s a gift.”
— Paul Blaschko [00:08:52 → 00:09:01]
Unpaid care as essential infrastructure:
“The question became: how do we recognize the invisible labor that women overwhelmingly tend to do? You can’t run a country or a factory without people who’ve been raised to do that—and yet, those doing that work, overwhelmingly women, aren’t given paychecks or benefits.”
— Paul Blaschko [00:14:58 → 00:15:27]
Making space for pluralism in feminist thought:
“Today, feminism is reckoning with how to make room for multiple forms of meaningful work—inside or outside the home.”
— Chris Hedlin [00:18:50 → 00:19:06]
The emotional complexity of care work:
“You can’t put a number on the value of care work. It can be infuriating or beautiful—sometimes both at once. It’s invaluable.”
— Chris Hedlin [00:38:12 → 00:38:30]
Work as a site of agency and purpose:
“Work becomes one of the most important theaters in which our lives play out. It’s really important that you’re the agent—that things are lining up in the way you want them to.”
— Paul Blaschko [01:01:17 → 01:01:32]