10 immigrant domestic workers

Immigrant Domestic Workers and Transnational workers: 

Immigrant Domestic Workers and Transnational workers

Female Domestic Workers & Violations of Human Rights: 

Female Domestic Workers & Violations of Human Rights “I was not allowed to go outside…I felt like I was in jail. It was truly imprisonment. I could only see the outside world when I hung clothes to dry.” – Domestic worker in Singapore Domestic work, in private sphere, is commonly unprotected & outside the sphere of labor legislation Invisibility Blurred boundaries when workplace is another’s home (‘one of family’) Under Gulf Cooperation Council sponsorship program, employers hold workers’ passports & other documents  sets up conditions for employer exploitation Practices by recruitment agencies – exorbitant debt & negligence Wide range of abuses by employers that are rarely prosecuted Curtailment of reproductive & other human rights

Domestic Workers’ Rights in the US: 

Domestic Workers’ Rights in the US A Nannies' Bill of Rights New York bill protecting domestic workers would be the first of its kind. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt unveiled his plan for a federal minimum wage in May 1937, Southern planters grumbled that they'd be required to "pay your Negro girl 11 dollars a week." Roosevelt knew his Fair Labor Standards Act would squeeze through Congress only with the approval of Southern Democrats, so he reassured the grumblers: "No law ever suggested intended a minimum wages and hours bill to apply to domestic help." The president stuck to his word. The Fair Labor Standards Act and other New Deal labor reforms excluded domestic workers—mostly women—and also farm laborers—mostly Latinos and blacks. They were denied a minimum wage, overtime pay, collective bargaining rights, and other protections. Domestic workers eventually secured the right to a minimum wage, in 1974. But the law still doesn't consider them "employees." Nannies, housecleaners, and caregivers are still not legally entitled to the same protections guaranteed to other workers. By Meaghan Winter, Slate.com, April 30, 2010

The formation of transnational families (TFs): Causes : 

The formation of transnational families (TFs): Causes Laws/recruiting in receiving countries encourage formation of TFs Low-wage labor is delivered without the costs of migrant family’s social reproduction Temporary migrants are not entitled to welfare, social security Globalization’s development is uneven; immigrants can’t afford to raise kids in destinations Lower costs of social reproduction in the third world Reluctance to raise children in destinations where nativist sentiment is rising, poor neighborhoods are unfamiliar/dangerous Enduring cultural value of familism allows TFs to flourish TFs become part of self-perpetuating, trans-generational cycle

The formation of transnational families: Consequences: 

The formation of transnational families: Consequences Isolation, absence of migrants’ family members creates guilt/loneliness; stunts incorporation in destination, limits access to social support Awareness & pain of “conflicting class mobility” Parrenas (2000:574)

The formation of transnational families: Consequences: 

The formation of transnational families: Consequences Transnational families rarely see a reorganization of gender roles & gendered power (Parrenas 2005) – burdening of younger & older women with additional caregiving Barbara Latoza, 19, interviewed by R. Parreñas (2005)

The formation of transnational families: Consequences: 

The formation of transnational families: Consequences Families in destination societies often get an added bonus, love , in the reproductive labor transaction Emotional transference & ‘pouring love’ States as beneficiaries (e.g., safety valve, remittances, etc) At the other end of the caregiving chain, there is often a commodification of the parent-child bond Commodities become expressions of love Physical closeness lessened when stays are extended to meet arising needs (e.g. debts)

Mothering and Carework in the Global Economy (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila): 

Mothering and Carework in the Global Economy (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila) Ways of mothering & mother-child bond—not biologically predetermined—but historically & socially constructed “Good mothering” in poor regions often demands employment Investment in ‘precious’ children- product of wealth, modernity Affluent nations import care, export post-modern ideology of motherhood & childhood Poor families in the global south require flexible approaches to mothering “I’m Here, but I’m There,” Mother’s sacrifice to provide “milk, shoes & schooling”

Immigrant Domestic Workers: 

Immigrant Domestic Workers Primarily females in migrant stream Nannies, housekeepers, maids, individual care takers for elderly/ disabled Replace careworkers who have entered labor force in receiving country

Importing of Care work: 

Importing of Care work Both rich / poor families rely on 2 incomes. Implications different Rich countries: kids/elderly/ HHs get extra caregivers Poor countries : deficit of caregivers

Love & Gold- Hochschild : 

Love & Gold- Hochschild Importing care work/ exporting care work Implications for sending and receiving countries Middle-class in developing nations earns less than poor of First World. Migration –for men and women – has become a private solution to a public problem Many female workers fill domestic jobs Allows women in richer countries to take other employment opportunities In developed nations, women’s career path often modeled according to the male model Many migrant female careworkers have children left at home Most feel separation acutely, and express guilt and remorse from leaving children

Love & Gold- Hochschild (cont.): 

Love & Gold- Hochschild (cont.) Children suffer more than their migrant mothers More frequently ill than children without migrant parent More likely to express anger, confusion, apathy than children of non-migrant parents Love as an unfairly distributed resource Love given to children at home, or care-work children in migrating country? Paid not only for care work, but for love / “part of family” Developed nations extract love from undeveloped nations Loving, paid child care not necessarily a bad thing, but often accompanied by exploitation and “care drain”

Love & Gold- Hochschild (cont.): 

Love & Gold- Hochschild (cont.) Missing from the picture? Dads Dad’s with migrant wives often not primary care giver of children Little credit given to those who care for children Norway: up to 1 yr at 90% wages for dads who will stay home with new child Why can’t the children come? If a mother migrates, why can’t she care for her own children and those in her care? Article 9 of UN declaration of Rights of the Child “A child should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding,” and “Not be separated from his or her parents against their will.” Importance of value of care as most precious resource

Nanny Dilemma: 

Nanny Dilemma Teach kids money can’t but love, but often hire people to love them because of lack of time Necessity for working parents Not near enough affordable/or state-supported child care for working families Families need to find reliable child care in unreliable market No protections/ guarantees for nanny Kids get attached to nannies, parents get mad about it

Nanny dilemma: 

Nanny dilemma Flexibility and work Get to know families, take advantage with “more flexibility” longer hours, calls on weekend Families inflexible for nanny : deducting when late, counting minutes, calls on weekends Little job stability Kids in school, work dries up Conflicts Find cheating spouses, drug issues, etc

Article: “Just another Job?”: 

Article: “Just another Job?” Domestic labor is a form of production since it “produces” humans that make up future work force. In home, work is not regulated by state or market. Still primarily patriarchal Characteristic of domestic work: performing several tasks simultaneously Why pay for domestic worker? Women entering labor markets in high numbers in developed nations “reproductive labor gap” left in home Few countries provide fully paid child care for young families

Article: “Just another Job?” (cont.): 

Article: “Just another Job?” (cont.) Pay alters nature of domestic work Domestic worker held to higher standard than if individual was doing own care work Isolation in private households Racism as a component or domestic work Challenges domestic workers face in own families Money and contract of care work when in face-to –face interactions with employer Exploitation: extra hours unpaid, late, often performed by migrants who may or may not be legal Domestic work not “just another paid job” Contractual relationship problematic Labor power + personal identity into commodities that can be bought Most effective way to protect domestic workers? Turn it into “just another job” Extend employment rights Granting work permits Allow keeping of own family and identity

Care Crisis and Poor Children: 

Care Crisis and Poor Children Transnational families and care crisis in developing countries- Focus: research of Philippines Care demand has increased, care supply has dwindled 34-54% of Filipino population is sustained by remittances from migrant families Women in Philippines part of “stalled revolution” Local gender ideology remains a few steps behind economic reality More anxiety for dependents of migrant moms than migrant dads

Care Crisis and poor children: 

Care Crisis and poor children Vilifying of migrant mom’s as “problem” of care crisis Children often never reunite with migrant parents on long-term basis Permanent separation through migration “Abandonment” Care is now the primary export of the Philippines Both mothers and children suffer Migrant mom’s attempt to retain ties with their children Provide emotional care and guidance from afar

Care Crisis and poor children: 

Care Crisis and poor children And, the children Report feeling abandoned Reaction of child often depends on extent to which aware of material benefits migration brings Children who receive good surrogate parenting do better than those who do not. Children of migrant mom’s felt best cared for when their mothers made consistent effort to show parental concern from a distance

Care Crisis and poor children: 

Care Crisis and poor children Children left have more responsibilities Even if one parent is left at home, children of migrant parent have more responsibilities Leave school to care for siblings Lack of male responsibility for care work in Philippines Fathers often also hold full-time jobs Children of migrant moms more often confused, angry, afraid than other children Children who feel mom’s trying to nurture and be good providers more likely to be accepting of migration choices Children of migrant mothers repeatedly stress that they lack pleasure and comfort of daily interaction with parents

Care Crisis and poor children: 

Care Crisis and poor children Men Fewer responsibilities in care work in both poor and wealthy countries Can be bought for wealthy, not for poor Globalization Lead to ideas about gender/ modernity that create large female workforces, and morally discipline working women Hurts those who need protection the most Downplays emotional difficulties of being a migrant working woman Calling for a return of women doesn’t resolve problem DV, poverty, male infidelity still problems in families Reconstituting gender ideologies would be more helpful – in developing and poor countries Solution for rich countries leads to problems in poor countries Receiving countries need to recognize contribution of migrant care workers Full incorporation into society, fair wages, protections against exploitation

Disadvantages to care workers: 

Disadvantages to care workers Often not fully / legally incorporated Unfair / unbalanced playing field between employer/ employee Asymmetries in race, nationality, citizenship, language, class Many care workers not accustom to expressing face-to-face criticism of employer Job falls somewhere between “family” and “employee” – especially when caring for children Although genuine bonds formed, still need living wage, decent working conditions

Invisible Labor: Caring for Independent Persons: 

Invisible Labor: Caring for Independent Persons Elderly/ disabled who would have to be institutionalized without “an attendant” Attendants often have to leave their own care work (children, aging parents) to care for someone else Live in, around clock care for some makes having own life impossible Preparing meals, bathing, toileting, etc Job difficulties Socially isolated American society’s respect for independence. Invisible workers make it possible to present self as “living independently” No formal training No career ladder No hope for advancement Rarely receive health benefits, vacation time, sick leave. May be fired at will. Taking travel time and expenses into account often paid less than minimum wage, since most not around-the-clock or even 40 hrs/ week

Invisible Labor: Caring for Independent Persons: 

Attendant’s job Reduce shame consumer feels by not showing disgust Construct identity of being ‘independent’ for care receiver Construct self as invisible Immigrant women easily fit this since already socially invisible Care work of independents often similar to caring for child Diapers seen as part of female gender role About the Attendant Often new migrant without knowledge of laws, customs, norms, language May have increased vulnerability due to lack of legal status, and society with racism, sexism, sexual harassment, difficult work conditions Invisible Labor: Caring for Independent Persons

In the words of one attendant: : 

In the words of one attendant: “Of course they need to have their basics. The house needs to be cleaned, they need to eat, they need to shower, that kind of thing. But I think it goes beyond that, you have to show you care… because they’re not objects and it’s not just a job, you know; you get attached… You’re working with human beings, and that’s where the difference lies – between working with people and working with things… They also need to feel like they’re still humans who deserve respect, love, and care” Global Women – p 80

Invisible Labor: Caring for Independent Persons: 

When care is commodified, the care –receiver becomes an independent purchaser of services to which he or she feel entitled Labels “dependent” and “independent” are myths used to justify inequality Work seen as “visible dependency” if done by one, but “invisible and independent” if done by another Recognizing dependence on others means acknowledging that we fall short of cultural ideal of independence Invisible Labor: Caring for Independent Persons

Maids in Care work: 

Maids in Care work Class polarization grows, submission postures needed by maids Scrubbing floors the “old fashion way” on hands and knees In society where 40% wealth owned by 1% HH, and bottom 20% has negative assets, degradation of others for own benefit readily purchased Barbara Ehrenreich : “Nickled and Dimed”, “Maid to Order” Undercover work with maid service to see how working class lives Often worked with migrant women Workers often demanded to do tasks with exactness that employers would never do on their own

Maids in Care work: 

Maids in Care work Housework about power Who has power to decide what they do, what is done? Who is looked down upon if house is not clean? Housework not degrading because manual labor, but because embedded in degrading relationships and serves to reinforce then One person’s dominion, arrogance, indifference, or hurry becomes another person’s occasion for toil When person consistently cleaning is female, and person consistently cleaned up after is male, you have formula for producing male domination from one generation to the next Women consistently do more housework then men, even in HHs where both adults work

Maids in Care work: 

Maids in Care work Inequality in male/ female housekeeping often passed on to maid/ housekeeper in families that can afford it. Marriage counselors recommend maid over squabbling Politics of housework becoming politics of gender, race and class. Low pay Often well below poverty line Cases of slavery invisible to larger society Use of maid as “therapist” vs.. ignoring Hiring service with team leader rather than “maid” Wages, green card, etc. become “problem” of company rather than individual household Benefits: paid vacation, health insurance, sometimes breakfast, no car needed, can take off time if needed Unfair practices: breaks are “driving”, may not be paid for driving time, lunches short and on the run, no drinking/ eating/ using restroom at clientele's home

Maids in Care work: 

Maids in Care work Trend toward outsourcing work of home seems unstoppable Expected trend will go further into middle class No reason to think men will take on greater share of burden with way things are going Maid/ housekeeper usually there because employer has “something better to do” and the money to do it Servant economy may provide opportunities for poor and immigrant women BUT – also breeds callousness, unfair gender roles, submission Moral challenge: Make the work visible again Not only cleaning, but also building homes and other manual labor often done by migrant workers

Article: America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-day Slavery: 

Article: America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-day Slavery Paperwork/ passports taken upon arrival Locked inside home and expected to care for children, clean house, other tasks Sexual abuse and rape not uncommon Foreign nationals, diplomats, employees of international agencies can “import” care helpers using A-3, G-5, B-1 visas Not well tracked or recorded; state department doesn’t keep records of B-1 domestic workers Make workers at risk of exploitation

Article: America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-day Slavery: 

Article: America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-day Slavery Patterns of abuse of Maids, domestic workers from abroad Work nearly around the clock, 7 days a week Passports/ visas confiscated Threatened with arrest, deportation Often required to sleep on the floor, denied health insurance Subject to physical battery, sexual abuse Threatened retaliation against worker’s family Psychological coercion Convince foreign worker that Americans don’t like people of that race/ ethnic group. Case of Black housekeeper from brazil. Trapped 20 yrs, little food, no pay. Convinced would be raped or killed if went out Many don’t know rights or know where to go for help

Article: America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-day Slavery: 

Article: America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-day Slavery Solutions Establish monitoring / counseling available to visa holders Access to legal safeguards, social workers, monitors, lawyers would make conditions of exploitation less accessible Shelters for victims of trafficking and slavery Often have to turn to members of tight-knit ethnic groups for housing if escape; makes it easier for employer to find then

Summary Domestic Work: 

Summary Domestic Work Difficulties and discrimination associated with domestic work of migrants Maids, nannies, personal caregivers at risk of exploitation Little or no monitoring Invisibility of work Hopes for changes in the future Reconstituting gender roles to place equal responsibility on men Shelters for victims Legislation changes for monitoring

Immigrant Transnationalism: 

Immigrant Transnationalism “Mexican New York” as a great example of this Ch 1-4 :introduction to research and migrant group “assimilation” vs. “incorporation “assimilation” = conforming to white/ middle class norms “incorporation” – how immigrants become part of larger American society Transnationalism as an alternative to downward assimilation Bifurcated prospects Focus on 2 nd generation / 1 st generation differences throughout book 1986 Amnesty and migration changes between Mexico/ New York The committee and local politics Migrants able to vote in elections Political history of area

Process of Immigrant Trasnationalism: 

Process of Immigrant Trasnationalism Remittances begin Transitional activities begin Transitional communities immerge Transitional communities consolidated

Gender and Transnationalism: 

Gender and Transnationalism Male vs. female outcomes and jobs – summary Impact on sending countries Remittances Kids and families

Mexican New York, by Robert Courtney Smith © 2006 : 

Mexican New York , by Robert Courtney Smith © 2006

PowerPoint Presentation: 

“There’s a time you can’t believe you’re here. You’re like, “Oh, it’s probably a dream down here.” …Since I have dreams that I’m over there and I wake up…But I’m like, “Oh, I’m really here.” And I have fun. And in the nights you can’t wait to leave your house at 8:00 and go to the centro , and you see all the lights from the house.” ~ Linda, age 15

Defining Transnational Life: 

Defining Transnational Life “transnational life includes those practices & relationships linking migrants & their children with the home country , where such practices have significant meaning & are regularly observed ” (Smith, p. 6) Not all immigrants are transnational migrants… Transnational life revolves around lived experience Usually involves travel between home & host nation Severing ties to the ‘old country’ is not inevitable or required, even for the “assimilated” Embodied in identity & social structure; in individuals’ “social & moral maps” (Smith, p. 3) Transnational life is not bound to a single locality Creates a “third space,” that is not just local, not just global

Examples of Transnational Entrepreneurship: 

Examples of Transnational Entrepreneurship “ Dominican ausentes ” Indigenous Otavalans in major U.S. cities

Ticuanenses in New York City: 

Ticuanenses in New York City Smith estimates… ~ 100-150 youth ~ 300-400 adults …return to Ticuani from the U.S. each year And, 30-40% of Ticuanenses in the U.S. return to Ticuani over the course of 3 years The frequency of this international movement represents transnational life

The Brooklyn Antorcha: 

The Brooklyn Antorcha

The experiences of 1.5 & 2nd generation Mexican young adults in NYC:: 

The experiences of 1.5 & 2nd generation Mexican young adults in NYC: Education & Employment prospects: Segmented assimilation results in diverse outcomes Both upward mobility & frustrated prospects Meaning of being Mexican depends on context (“Benetton” ethnics vs. Korean factory contexts) Race & Racialization: “In-between status” in American institutions Engagement with the “immigrant analogy” Social & cultural: Strained relations with Puerto Rican counterparts Mexicanness & Mexican family/gender norms Transnational ties to Ticuani influence assimilation in NYC

The experience of first generation Mexicans in NYC:: 

The experience of first generation Mexicans in NYC: Demography & Geography: Rapid growth of Mexican population in NYC Residential dispersal across diverse NYC landscape “Little Mexico” enclaves are not fully Mexican “Minority among minorities” Neighborhoods & relations with Puerto Ricans Labor Market: Immigrant labor market niche – ethnic social capital facilitates action Restaurant & Garment industry jobs prominent in 1 st gen. Fictive coethnicity, internal labor markets & a pseudo “enclave effect” Social & cultural: “Emergent Mexican social spaces” within NYC The Committee & transnational life

Article: Here but There : 

Article: Here but There Transnational motherhood – article focus on Latina immigrant women In USA, long legacy of Caribbean, Black, and Latina women leaving children “back home” to work Often grandmothers, female kin, paid care workers care for their children Immigration: Gendering transnational perspectives 3 objectives to transnational perspective: 1) emphasis on circulation of settlement Most migrants are here to stay regardless of original intentions 2)celebratory nature of transnationalism while ignoring financial, social, and emotional costs to families and individuals 3) assumption of genderless transnational migration

Article: Here but There (cont.): 

Article: Here but There (cont.) Rethinking motherhood “cult of domesticity” and vanishing “family wage” for most Working class and poor women have worked through most US history “Mothering not just gendered, but racialized” Many working women of color still hold ideal of primary responsibility for childcare in home Many Latina women work for pay; many involved in earner arrangements that allow work and simultaneous care for children Transnational Mothers’ work, place, and Space Domestic work for pay in live-in arrangement incompatible with caring for own family Most come with intention of staying for a finite time, but often stay longer When men left for Bracero family, they were fulfilling gender roles to provide. When women leave, they are redefining gender roles and mothering Mothering by providing

Article: Here but There (cont.): 

Article: Here but There (cont.) Transnational motherhood and Paid domestic work 75% paid domestic workers in one survey had children Less likely to be live-in job if children in USA with mother (about ½ have children). Average 64 hrs/week Weekly housecleaners more compatible with caring for own children. Often paid more, and “flat fee” Women who are better established are more likely to have children with them in USA Meaning of transnational motherhood Replacing belief mothers should raise own children with new definition of motherhood Phone, letters, contact and social interaction with children Many don’t want to bring children to USA because of possible hazards Racism, poor job experiences, pregnancy rates, downward assimilation

Article: Here but There (cont.): 

Article: Here but There (cont.) Who is taking care of the Nanny’s Children? Prefer own mothers or “close relative” Primary worry is that children are abused or neglected Gifts, extra pay, etc. for caregivers of their children. Fair remuneration for caregivers Worry about if teens will get into trouble w/o mom there Motherhood and breadwinning Replacing care giving with breadwinning in definitions of mothering But, still see care giving as big part. Bonding to employers’ children Care work plus love Often perceive employers to be neglectful to children

Article: Here but There (cont.): 

Article: Here but There (cont.) Discussion: Carework is typical for Latina immigrant women Transnational moms rely on others to give care to their children Long history of minority groups being incorporated through coercive systems that don’t recognize family rights Chinese exclusion act another Family ties are often still strong even across borders Maintenance of ties more difficult Policies should address not only gender inequalities, but inequalities of race, class, and citizenship status

Conclusions: Transnationalism and Domestic Workers: 

Conclusions: Transnationalism and Domestic Workers Difficulties Families at home Invisibility Family life