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Nanny families and the making of gender (in)equality
... The employment of domestic workers reveals a complex interplay of social distinctions based on class and race/ethnicity, where the employers, predominantly women themselves are often in positions of higher socio-economic status [15]. [16] expounded on these dynamics, illustrating how the relationships between domestic workers and their employers are entrenched in profound social inequalities. This scenario underscores a paradox where the empowerment of one group of women occurs at the expense of the disenfranchisement of another, predominantly along racial and class lines. ...
... Recruitment by employment agents, who lure them with false promises of lucrative opportunities in the Middle East [8]. The domestic work environment, largely shaped by employers, can exacerbate vulnerabilities due to live-in arrangements, leading to exploitation, abuse, and isolation [16]. ...
This qualitative study examines the experiences of African domestic workers in the Middle East, with a focus on understanding the role of technology in shaping their experiences of social exclusion and invisibility. Utilising in-depth interviews with 21 returnee African domestic workers in Nigeria and Ghana, the study explores the multifaceted impact of technology on their lives in a foreign work environment. The research reveals that ICTs play a paradoxical role in the lives of these workers. On one hand, technology facilitates the global reach of traffickers, providing digital platforms for the commodification of human lives, on the other hand, technology emerges as a beacon of hope, offering means for these workers to maintain their identity and seek external assistance. A key finding is the varying levels of access to technology among the workers, which significantly influences their experiences of surveillance, control, and isolation. The study uncovers the intricate interplay of technology in both exacerbating and alleviating their marginalisation. The deprivation of technological access is revealed as both an economic issue and a form of social alienation. This study contributes to the understanding of the complex dynamics of social exclusion and the role of technology in the context of domestic work in the Middle East. It underscores the need for nuanced approaches in addressing the challenges faced by migrant domestic workers, highlighting the imperative for interventions that ensure equitable access to technology and enhance their social and legal agency. The findings of this study have significant implications for policy and practice, calling for a re-evaluation of the ethical and societal obligations towards migrant domestic workers.
How does affectivity align with the practice and experience of unfree labour? Recent studies have examined unfree labour as a political economic problem; however, the scholarship has largely overlooked the involvement of affect and social obligations in labour unfreedom, inadvertently constructing an imaginary of an insentient labouring body. I apply the case of au pairing to consider the affective dimensions of unfree labour embedded in the organisation of reproductive labour. Drawing on interviews with au pairs ( N = 26), I ask how the au pairs’ liminal position as a fictive family member and informal labourer relates to their experiences of labour unfreedom. Au pairs’ labour is appropriated and retained via the host parents’ deployment of emotional coercion, which simultaneously frames the labour as family membership. I argue that emotional abuse and coercion configure labour unfreedom, particularly for live-in reproductive labourers, who are bound to their labour by a sense of obligation and whose social-reproductive security depends on their commitment to caring labour. My findings embed labour in an affective-material framework and provide insights into why people remain at work experienced as unfree, even when there are no political or legal constraints involved.
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