‘Big Sisters’ are Better Domestic Servants?! Comments on the booming au Pair Business

Abstract

The au pair program in general is still known as a form of cultural exchange program and a good possibility for young women to spend a year abroad, although it has undergone great changes during the last 10 years. This article argues that due to different socio-economic and cultural processes in Western postindustrial societies as well as in the eastern and southern parts of the world the au pair program is becoming a form of domestic work with quite similar working and living conditions to that of live-in migrant domestic workers. This article which is based on two empirical studies on the globalizing au pair business in Eastern and Western Europe as well in the United States looks into the motivations and expectations, the living conditions and interactions between the au pairs and the employer families and contrasts these findings with the discourse of the au pair agencies still advertising au pair as a form of cultural exchange. In doing so the paper can show that it is the still dominant image of au-pair as a cultural exchange program (disarticulating the work aspect) that leaves the young au pair women even more vulnerable to exploitation: 'big sisters' are the best domestic servants. This article draws attention to the racialized economization of the private sphere and care work, the inherent traps and exploitative features of this very specific work place. keywords gender; globalization; transnational migration; domestic work; au pair; new division of reproductive labor feminist review 77 2004

The complications of ‘hiring a hubby’: gender relations and the commoditisation of home maintenance in New Zealand

“…For domestic workers this aspect of the job can be a blessing -offering them the opportunity for emotional closeness and fulfilment in a situation which can otherwise be isolated (Lutz 2011) -but it can also be a curse as their status as workers is overlooked and their labour is cast as a duty or a favour (Cox and Narula 2003;Hess and Puckhaber 2004). Hubbies can find, however, that they are caught in the negotiation of gender roles and identities within families and it is to this aspect of 'hiring a hubby' that I turn now.…”

The employment relationship in the domestic workspace in South Africa: beyond the apartheid legacy

“…A review of international studies into this phenomenon shows that there are common prejudices, idioms, attitudes and behaviours in domestic employment relationships across the globe, in both developing and developed countries (Hansen 1990, 1992, Bakan and Stasiulis 1995, Stiell and England 1997, Romero 1998, Anderson 2001a, b, 2007, Hongagneu-Sotelo 2001, Mattingly 2001, Howell 2002, Lutz 2002, Qayum and Ray 2003, Hess and Puckhaber 2004, Muttarak 2004, Maher and Staab 2005, Mantouvalou 2006, Platzer 2006, Colombo 2007, Deguili 2007, Rodriquez 2007, Das Gupta 2008, Blofield 2009). Thus, for example, in a study of domestic workers in Thailand, Raya Muttarak (2004) found similar exploitation and abuse of domestic workers (themselves largely Thai) to that described in South Africa, with unpaid wages, physical abuse and insufficient food being common experiences for domestic workers.…”

Filipino Au Pairs on the Move: <i>Navigating strong and weak ties in the search of future paths</i>

“…Several studies have shown how this ambiguity allows the au-pair-receiving societies to be provided with low-cost domestic labour (see, e.g. Hess and Puckhaber 2004;Mellini et al 2007;Yodanis & Lauer 2005), raising frequent questions about the legitimacy of the au pair programme (see, e.g. Platzer 2002;Stenum 2008;Øien 2009).…”