Good Times and Good Works: The Place of Sociability in the Work of Women Volunteers

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Abstract
This paper develops the concept of sociability work as a distinct and important form of labor. One place to observe this work is in the activities of women in the volunteer world who promote charitable causes. Using data from a study of volunteer workers in a metropolitan area, I show how the shape of this labor and its evaluation are affected by the social organization of work and gender. Women who are successful in charitable work take pride in their ability to create organizations and plan benefits that support symphony orchestras, welfare services, and other community causes. However, some of these women deprecate their work as mere “party giving” even as they stress its contribution to their community. This ambivalence reflects their awareness of negative stereotypes about sociability work and highlights the lack of significance generally accorded to this and other forms of invisible labor that women perform.