Domestic employers’ work practices. Tackling situations of abuse and disrespect with Latin American domestic workers

• In Event: Informal and precarious work

Abstract

An emergent body of scholarly work exists regarding the manifold dimensions and implications of domestic work, scholarship which draws from various standpoints and discipline traditions. Much existing literature deals specifically with the devaluation of domestic labor. A recent survey conducted in 14 metropolitan areas in the U.S. found that the domestic work industry is profoundly ethnocentric, gendered and racialized, with 23% of domestic workers earning below their state’s mandated minimum wage. In addition, many studies have repeatedly denounced the persistent gendered division of labor in the industry, and in particular have raised concerns about the disproportionate number of Latin American women in this occupation. Finally, given the private nature of domestic work and the unprotected conditions workers face, studies have pointed to the frequent hostile or even abusive relationships that employers have with their employees, in particular, with non-native English speakers such as Latin American women.
Despite the wealth of research on domestic labor, no studies conducted in the US have focused on the characteristics of domestic employers, and there is also a dearth of research on domestic employment located specifically in the Midwest. Our current study attempts to elucidate the characteristics of domestic employment in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. We argue that overlooking domestic employers' work practices prevents us from tackling the situations of abuse and disrespect that so frequently occur in this particular work environment and, in particular, with Latin American domestic workers.

Author

• Carolina A Sternberg, DePaul University