Women Domestic Worker

Abstract

Paid domestic work is an informal sector activity which is highly feminised, with increasing numbers of women workers being involved, especially in urban areas. This is a reflection of both demand (disposable income, aversion to undertake certain tasks, time poverty and vacation of care spaces among working women) and supply side (poverty, unemployment, rising consumption needs, aspirations, ease of entry) factors. Domestic work is highly and peculiarly personalised in the sense that each contract is between one employer and employee–worker and the workplace is the house of the employer; which the place is also of stay for live in for the duration of their work tenure. All these characteristics lend themselves to a peculiarity, which can very often contest with the usual parameters of legitimacy as labour market activities on several counts. Thus, although paid domestic work is indeed a legitimate labour market activity, often the employers and even the workers may tend to confuse the matter and not recognise it as such. The direct negative fallout of this is the invisibilisation of workers, non-recognition of workers’ rights and non-provision of any social protection measures.

This chapter is largely based on study conducted by Institute of Human Development in Delhi and report published by ILO ‘Persisting Servitude and Gradual Shifts towards Recognition and Dignity of Labour’ (Balwant Singh Mehta is the co-coordinator of the study).