Nepali Female Migrants and Informalization of Domestic Care Work: Service or Servitude?

Abstract

Nepali female migrants are among the fastest-growing immigrant workforces in the South Asian community, particularly in service and domestic work in big cities of the United States. However, there has not until now been a study investigating the work experiences of Nepali immigrants/migrants employed in the service and domestic sectors in these cities. This article investigates the work experiences of Nepali female migrants who work in service and domestic/child care work in Boston and New York, focusing on examining the type and nature of women's work, labor practices, work and living conditions, women's experiences and views about their work, and their responses to labor policies. The data for this research were collected through semistructured, informal, in-depth interviews and narrative collection in [2005][2006]. Twenty research participants (16-65 years of age) were selected using snowball sampling. The cases of Nepali women reported here support existing literature asserting that migrant/immigrant women are greatly involved and preferred in domestic (including child care) work, and that they encounter labor exploitation, emotional abuse, and prejudice. By demonstrating the downward occupational mobility/status of educated professional Nepali female migrants, however, this study also deconstructs the myths *The first version of this article was presented at about domestic/child care workers (for example, that they come from impoverished and nonprofessional backgrounds; this is not necessarily true). The downward mobility of Nepali immigrant women is a significant factor in leading women to quit their jobs, as a last resort, when work conditions and labor relations become unbearable. Since quitting a job does not solve the underlying problems in these women's work lives, I suggest that these women need to become active in community-based social and political organizations to learn about workers' rights.

Macro-Level Determinants of Paid Domestic Labour Prevalence: A Cross-National Analysis of Seventy-Four Countries

“…While this need may not be exaggerated, it seems that the link to the class structure still remains even in ‘modern’ societies. Furthermore, previous micro-level studies on the status of domestic workers conclude that class inequalities between employers and employees intersect closely with other inequalities related to gender, ethnicity and nationality, making the power relations in female and migrant dominated domestic work sector particularly unbalanced (for example, Parreñas, 2000; Ehrenreich and Hochshild, 2002; Gurung, 2009; Lutz, 2011; Gavanas, 2013).…”

Patterns of Precarious Employment in a Female-Dominated Sector in Five Welfare States—The Case of Paid Domestic Labor Sector

“…Similarly suggest that the diverse backgrounds and situations of domestic and care workers shape their capabilities and possibilities to influence their income and working conditions. Several other studies support these findings, arguing that the individual characteristics of the worker may influence the bargaining power related to the job, and thus improve their working conditions (Anderson 2000;Gurung 2009;van Walsum 2011). Migrant care workers, especially undocumented migrants, are often identified as a disadvantaged group in the labor markets (Anderson 2010;Behtoui et al 2016;Parreñas Salazar 2000;Shutes and Walsh 2012).…”

Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment in the Context of Dirty Work

“…Ashforth and Kreiner (1999) contended that being isolated and cut off from any form of support usually led dirty workers to exit their occupation. In the case of migrant Nepali domestic/care workers, Gurung (2009) observed that when the emotional abuse, harassment and exploitation and consequent feelings of vulnerability, risk, inferiority and despair became unbearable, Nepali migrant women working in the USA quit their job as a last resort. Though exiting deprived workers of their livelihood, it provided respite from mistreatment.…”