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Migrant Men Doing ‘Women’s Work’

  • Ester Gallo
  • Francesca Scrinzi
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Part of the Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship book series (MDC)

Abstract

This chapter explores the networks that mediate the entry of migrant men into domestic/care services in Italy, and their experiences in this feminised job. Catholic institutions play an important role in this context by providing informal services, including training, recruitment, and administrative support. The practices of these ‘gate-keepers’ of domestic/care services contribute to establishing a gendered and racialised division of work, by reproducing the construction of the migrants’ respectable ‘domestic masculinity’. The chapter argues that the presence of migrant men serves to challenge the sex-typing of the job. Yet, gender segregation is reproduced, as migrant men are able to access a wider and better-paid range of occupations than women.

Keywords

Migrant Woman Elderly Employer Emotional Labour Domestic Service Italian Family 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Ester Gallo
    • 1
  • Francesca Scrinzi
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of SociologyGediz UniversityMenemen (Izmir)Turkey
  2. 2.Department of SociologyUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK

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