A Survey on the Relationship between Female Domestic Labor and Poverty: Research on Domestic House Cleaners and Childminders

Abstract

Recent studies on the working poor have led to increased interest in the relationship between employment and poverty. Especially as an outcome of implementation of neoliberal economic policies since the 1980s, both developed and developing countries have experienced a substantial decline in formal employment and a rise in low-paid, irregular, disorganized and insecure employment. In this process, the increase in female employment has taken place simultaneously with the informalization of labor markets, leading to a significant rise in the number of working poor. The steady increase of women in the labor force among the working poor in the informal sector has brought about new discussions and new approaches to understanding the relationship between women and poverty from various dimensions. Foremost among these is the "feminization of poverty". The aim of this study is to sociologically examine the relationship between female labor and poverty from women's own personal experiences and perception of poverty, through data gathered from research conducted on domestic house cleaners and childminders in the informal sector.