VivirLatino

Continuing thinking about labor on labor day, I would like to turn your attention to the struggles of mujeres, primarily immigrants, who work inside the homes of other women.

Immigrant women workers today form a pillar of the middle-class family. As nannies, housekeepers and other domestic workers, their status is defined by the strangely intimate nature of their work combined with structural discrimination. A new study presents at their hidden plight in a new light: as a driver of the advancement of the mothers they serve.

There is much talk still in mainstream feminist circles on the work at home vs stay at home mommy divide. Within these discussions however there is little if any analysis of how some women get to make this very decision and who takes the role of housekeeper and child care provider. It certainly isn’t the men of the household, assuming there is even a man in the picture. Rather it is immigrant women who often have never had the luxury of making a choice to stay home or to work outside the home.

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