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A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service". Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or
cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vario ...
,
laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with ...
and
ironing Ironing is the use of a machine, usually a heated tool (an iron), to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180–220 °Celsius (356-428 Fahrenheit), depending on the fabric. Ironing wor ...
, or care for children and elderly dependents, and other household errands. Some domestic workers live within their employer's household. In some cases, the contribution and skill of servants whose work encompassed complex management tasks in large households have been highly valued. However, for the most part, domestic work tends to be demanding and is commonly considered to be undervalued, despite often being necessary. Although legislation protecting domestic workers is in place in many countries, it is often not extensively enforced. In many jurisdictions, domestic work is poorly regulated and domestic workers are subject to serious abuses, including
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. ''Servant'' is an older English word for "domestic worker", though not all servants worked inside the home. Domestic service, or the employment of people for wages in their employer's residence, was sometimes simply called "service" and has often been part of a hierarchical system. In
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
a highly developed system of domestic service peaked towards the close of the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...
, perhaps reaching its most complicated and rigidly structured state during the
Edwardian period The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
(a period known in the United States as the
Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...
and in France as the
Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...
), which reflected the limited
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society ...
before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.


Terminology

Other terms include ''domestic helper'', ''domestic servant'', ''manservant'' or ''menial''.


History

ILO The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
estimates in 2015, based on national surveys and/or censuses of 232 countries and territories, place the number of domestic workers at around 67.1 million. But the ILO itself states that "experts say that due to the fact that this kind of work is often hidden and unregistered, the total number of domestic workers could be as high as 100 million". The ILO also states that 83% of domestic workers are women and many are migrant workers. In
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
, it is estimated that eight percent of all women work as domestic workers. They hardly have any legal protection. According to Guatemalan labor law, domestic work is "subject neither to a working time statute nor to regulations on the maximum number of working hours in a day". Legally, domestic workers are only entitled to ten hours of free time in 24 hours, and one day off per week. But very often, these minimal employment laws are disregarded, and so are basic civil liberties. In
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, domestic workers must be hired under a registered contract and have many of the rights of any other workers, which includes a
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...
, remunerated vacations and a remunerated weekly day off. It is not uncommon, however, for employers to hire servants illegally and fail to offer a work contract. Since domestic staff predominantly come from disadvantaged groups with less access to education, they are often vulnerable and uninformed of their rights, especially in rural areas. Nevertheless, domestics employed without a proper contract can successfully sue their employers and be compensated for abuse committed. It is common in Brazil for domestic staff, including childcare staff, to be required to wear uniforms, while this requirement has fallen out of use in other countries. In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, domestic workers are generally excluded from many of the legal protections afforded to other classes of worker, including the provisions of the
National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and ...
. However, in recent years, advocacy groups like the National Domestic Workers' Alliance have succeeded in passing a Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights into state law in New York, Hawaii, and California. Traditionally domestic workers have mostly been women and are likely to be immigrants. Currently, there are 1.8 million domestic workers, and tens of thousands of people are believed to be in forced labor in the United States. America's domestic home help workers, most of them female members of minority groups, earn low wages and often receive no retirement or health benefits because the lack of basic labor protections. Domestic workers are also excluded from vacation time, sick time, and overtime, and only thirteen percent of domestic workers get health insurance provided by their employers. A report from the National Domestic Workers Alliance and affiliated groups found that nearly a quarter of nannies, caregivers, and home health workers make less than the minimum wage in the states in which they work, and nearly half – 48 percent – are paid less than needed to adequately support a family. Many of these workers are subjected to abuse, sexual harassment, and social inequality. However, because domestic workers work in the home, their struggles are hidden in the home and out of the public spotlight. Nowadays with an increase of power, the domestic workers' community has formed many organizations, such as the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Domestic Workers United, and The South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union. The domestic work industry is dominated throughout the world by women. While the domestic work industry is advantageous for women in that it provides them a sector that they have substantial access to, it can also prove to be disadvantageous by reinforcing
gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...
through the idea that domestic work is an industry that should be dominated by women. Within the domestic work industry, the much smaller proportion of jobs that is occupied by men are not the same jobs that are typically occupied by women. Within the childcare industry, men make up only about 3–6% of all workers.Susan B. Murray, "'We all love Charles': men in child care and the social construction of gender", ''Gender & Society''; (1996) 10: 368 Additionally, in the child care industry men, are more likely to fill roles that are not domestic in nature but administrative such as a managerial role in a daycare center. While the domestic work industry was once believed to be an industry that belonged to a past type of society and did not belong in a modern world, trends are showing that although elements of the domestic work industry have been changing the industry itself has shown no signs of fading away, but only signs of transformation. There are several specific causes that are credited to continuing the cycle of the demand for domestic work. One of these causes is that with more women taking up full-time jobs, a dually employed household with children places a heavy burden on parents. It is argued however that this burden wouldn't result in the demand for outside domestic work if men and women were providing equal levels of effort in domestic work and child-rearing within their own home. The demand for domestic workers has also become primarily fulfilled by
migrant domestic workers Migrant domestic workers (also known as foreign home care workers, foreign domestic workers, foreign domestic helpers, transnational domestic workers, foreign domestic employees, overseas domestic workers and domestic migrant workers) are, acco ...
from other countries who flock to wealthier nations to fulfill the demand for help at home."Feminists and Domestic Workers; Muchachas No More: Domestic Workers in Latin America and the Caribbean" by Elsa M. Chaney; Mary Garcia Castro This trend of domestic workers flowing from poorer nations to richer nations creates a relationship that on some levels encourages the liberation of one group of people at the expense of the exploitation of another. Although domestic work has far from begun to fade from society, the demand for it and the people who fill that demand has changed drastically over time. The so-called "servant problem" in such countries as the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada was the problem that middle-class families had with cleaning, cooking, and especially entertaining at the level that was socially expected. It was too much work for any one person to do herself, but middle-class families, unlike wealthy families, could not afford to pay the wages necessary to attract and retain skilled household employees.


Legal protections

The United Kingdom's
Master and Servant Act Master and Servant Acts or Masters and Servants Acts were laws designed to regulate relations between employers and employees during the 18th and 19th centuries. An 1823 United Kingdom Act described its purpose as "the better regulations of serva ...
1823 was the first of its kind; the terms referred generally to employers and employees. The Act influenced the creation of domestic service laws in other nations, although legislation tended to favour employers. However, before the passing of such Acts servants, and workers in general, had no protection in law. The only real advantage that domestic service provided was the provision of meals, accommodation, and sometimes clothes, in addition to a modest wage. Service was normally an
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
system with room for advancement through the ranks. The conditions faced by domestic workers have varied considerably throughout history and in the contemporary world. In the course of twentieth-century movements for
labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influe ...
,
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...
and immigrant rights, the conditions faced by domestic workers and the problems specific to their class of employment have come to the fore. In 2011, the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
adopted the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Previously, at its 301st Session (March 2008), the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO) Governing Body agreed to place an item on decent work for domestic workers on the agenda of the 99th Session of the International Labour Conference (2010) with a view to the setting of labour standards. In July 2011, at the annual International Labour Conference, held by the ILO, conference delegates adopted the Convention on Domestic Workers by a vote of 396 to 16, with 63 abstentions. The Convention recognized domestic workers as workers with the same rights as other workers. On 26 April 2012,
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
was the first country to ratify the convention.


Accommodation

Many domestic workers are live-in domestics. Though they often have their own quarters, their accommodations are not usually as comfortable as those reserved for the family members. In some cases, they sleep in the kitchen or small rooms, such as a
box room In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, tha ...
, sometimes located in the basement or attic. Domestic workers may live in their own home, though more often they are "live-in" domestics, meaning that they receive their
room and board Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at higher educatio ...
as part of their salaries. In some countries, because of the large gap between urban and rural incomes, and the lack of employment opportunities in the countryside, even an ordinary middle class urban family can afford to employ a full-time live-in servant. The majority of domestic workers in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, and other populous developing countries, are people from the rural areas who are employed by urban families. Employers may require their domestic workers to wear a
uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...
,
livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
or other "domestic workers' clothes" when in their employers' residence. The uniform is usually simple, though aristocratic employers sometimes provided elaborate decorative liveries, especially for use on formal occasions. Female servants wore long, plain, dark-coloured
dresses A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers ...
or
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
skirts with white belts and white
blouse A blouse (blau̇s, 'blau̇z, ) is a loose-fitting upper garment that was worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children.The Concise Oxford English Dictionary It is typically gathered at the waist or hips (by tight hem, pleats, parter ...
s, and black shoes, and male servants and butlers would wear something from a simple suit, or a white
dress shirt A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt, is a garment with a collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down shirt is a dres ...
, often with
tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * ...
, and knickers. In traditional portrayals, the attire of domestic workers especially was typically more formal and conservative than that of those whom they serve. For example, in films of the early 20th century, a butler might appear in a tailcoat, while male family members and guests appeared in lounge suits or sports jackets and trousers depending on the occasion. In later portrayals, the employer and guests might wear casual slacks or even jeans, while a male domestic worker wore a jacket and tie or a white dress shirt with black trousers, necktie or bowtie, maybe even a waistcoat, or a female domestic worker either a blouse and skirt (or trousers) or a uniform. On 30 March 2009,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
adopted a law banning employers from requiring domestic workers to wear a uniform at public places. However, it's not explained which punishments will be given to employers violating the law.
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
adopted a similar law in 2014, also banning employers to require domestic workers to wear uniform at public places.


Child workers

More girls under 16 work as domestic workers than any other category of child labor. Usually, in a practice often called "confiage" or entrusting, such as for
restavek A restavek (or restavec) is a child in Haiti who is sold by their parents to work for a host household as a domestic servant because the parents lack the resources required to support the child. The term comes from the French language ''rester ave ...
s in
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
, parents in the rural poverty make an agreement with someone in the cities who would house and send their child to school in return for domestic work. Such children are very vulnerable to exploitation: often they are not allowed to take breaks or are required to work long hours; many suffer from a lack of access to education, which can contribute to social isolation and a lack of future opportunity.
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
considers domestic work to be among the lowest status, and reports that most child domestic workers are live-in workers and are under the round-the-clock control of their employers. Child domestic work is common in countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.
In Pakistan, since January 2010 to December 2013, 52 cases of tortures on child domestic workers are reported including 24 deaths. It has been estimated that globally, at least 10 million children work in domestic labor jobs. Children face a number of risks that are common in domestic work service. The
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) is a programme that the International Labour Organization has run since 1992. IPEC's aim is to work towards the progressive elimination of child labour by strengthening national c ...
identified that these risks include: long and tiring working days; use of toxic chemicals; carrying heavy loads; handling dangerous items such as knives, axes and hot pans; insufficient or inadequate food and accommodation, and humiliating or degrading treatment including physical and verbal violence, and sexual abuse.


Migrant domestic workers

Migrant domestic workers are, according to the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
's Convention No. 189 and the
International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM wa ...
, any persons “moving to another country or region to better their material or social conditions and improve the prospect for themselves or their family,” engaged in a work relationship performing “in or for a household or households.” Domestic work itself can cover a "wide range of tasks and services that vary from country to country and that can be different depending on the age, gender, ethnic background and migration status of the workers concerned." These particular workers have been identified by some academics as situated within "the rapid growth of paid domestic labor, the feminization of transnational migration, and the development of new public spheres.”


Social effects

As women currently dominate the domestic labor market throughout the world, they have learned to navigate the system of domestic work both in their own countries and abroad in order to maximize the benefits of entering the domestic labor market. Among the disadvantages of working as a domestic worker is the fact that women working in this sector are working in an area often regarded as a private sphere.Arat-Koc, S. (1992) 'In the Privacy of Our Own Home: Foreign Domestic Workers as a Solution to the Crisis of the domestic sphere in Canada', P. Connelly and P. Armstrong (eds.) ''Feminism in Action: Studies in Political Economy'', Toronto: Canadian Studies Press. Feminist critics of women working in the domestic sphere argue that this woman-dominated market is reinforcing gender inequalities by potentially creating mistress-servant relationships between domestic workers and their employers and continuing to put women in a position of lesser power. Other critics point out that working in a privatized sphere robs domestic workers of the advantages of more socialized work in the public sphere.Martha De Regt "Ways to Come, Ways to Leave: Gender, Mobility, and Il/legality among Ethiopian Domestic Workers in Yemen", ''Gender & Society''; 2010 24: 237. Additionally, domestic laborers face other disadvantages. Their isolation is increased by their invisibility in the public sphere and the repetitive, intangible nature of their work decreases its value, making the workers themselves more dispensable.Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo "Regulating the Unregulated?: Domestic Workers' Social Networks", in: ''Social Problems''; Vol. 41, No. 1, Special Issue on Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in America (Feb., 1994), pp. 50–64 The level of isolation women face also depends on the type of domestic work they are involved with. Live-in nannies for example may sacrifice much of their own independence and sometimes become increasingly isolated when they live with a family of which they are not part and away from their own. While working in a dominantly female privatized world can prove disadvantageous for domestic workers, many women have learned how to help one another move upward economically. Women find that informal networks of friends and families are among the most successful and commonly used means of finding and securing jobs. Without the security of legal protection, many women who work without the requisite identity or citizenship papers are vulnerable to abuse. Some have to perform tasks considered degrading showing a manifestation of employer power over worker powerlessness. Employing domestic work from foreign countries can perpetuate the idea that domestic or service work is reserved for other social or racial groups and plays into the stereotype that it is work for inferior groups of people.Just Another Job? Paying for Domestic Work, Bridget Anderson Gender and Development, Vol. 9, No. 1, Money (Mar., 2001), pp. 25–33 Gaining employment in the domestic labor market can prove to be difficult for immigrant women. Many subcontract their services to more established women workers, creating an important apprenticeship type of learning experience that can produce better, more independent opportunities in the future. Women who work as domestic workers also gain some employment mobility. Once established they have the option of accepting jobs from multiple employers increasing their income and their experience and most importantly their ability to negotiate prices with their employers.


England

In 19th- and early 20th-century England the close supervision exercised by mistresses over their servants (including the rule "no followers", "followers" being any men whom the servant might wish to meet when she was not working) was a great disadvantage. This policy was justified by the low esteem in which servants were held; therefore men they associated with were likely to include some with criminal tendencies. The servant and writer Margaret Powell expressed the view that "follower" was a degrading term; the only way the two could meet was by the servant getting out to the road with an excuse such as needing to post a letter.


Situation by country


Canada

Domestic helpers in Canada, mainly from the Philippines, work in Canada, including under the
Live-In Caregiver A professional live-in caregiver provides personal care and assistance to individuals, including those suffering from chronic illness, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia, within the home setting. Typical duties of a live-in caregiver include meal p ...
program.


France

In his ''Tableau de Paris''
Louis-Sébastien Mercier Louis-Sébastien Mercier (6 June 1740 – 25 April 1814) was a French dramatist and writer, whose 1771 novel ''L'An 2440'' is an example of proto-science fiction. Early life and education He was born in Paris to a humble family: his father was a ...
describes the characteristics of the manservants (lackeys) of pre-revolutionary Paris. "An army of useless servants is kept entirely for show"; he observes that the presence of these servants in the capital has left the countryside rather empty. A tax-farmer's household consists of 24 servants in livery, besides scullions, kitchen maids and six lady's maids. Some lackeys would adopt the manners of their masters and affect a similar mode of dress.


Hong Kong

Domestic helpers (DHs, foreign domestic workers, FDWs) from certain other countries, especially the Philippines and Indonesia, work in Hong Kong on specific visas that exempt employers from many obligations received by other workers, and receive a lower minimum salary. Approximately five percent of Hong Kong's population are FDWs, about 98.5% of them are women, performing household tasks such as cooking, serving, cleaning, dishwashing and child care. During the covid-19 epidemic, all foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong have to be vaccinated before their contracts can be renewed, the government announced as it ordered them to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing on 9 May 2021


Vietnam

On December 14, the Government of Viet Nam issued
Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
No. 145/2020 / ND-CP about the Labor Code regarding working conditions and labor relations. Including detailed provisions and guidance for the implementation of Clause 2, Article 161 of the Labor Code regarding domestic worker labor. This Decree details and guides the implementation of a number of contents on labor conditions and labor relations in accordance with the following articles and clauses of the Labor Code: Labor management; Labor contract; Labor outsourcing; Organize dialogue and implement grassroots democracy at work; Salary; Working time, rest time; Labor discipline, material responsibility; Insurance for the domestic worker; Female labor and gender equality; Labor is the housekeeper; Settlement of labor disputes.


Kenya

In Kenya, domestic workers – nearly all female – are known as 'housegirls'. Often from poor villages in neighbouring
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...
, girls are open to exploitation, and there are calls for stronger legal protection.


Philippines

In the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, domestic household workers/helpers such as maidservants (''katulong''/''kasambahay''), caretakers (''yaya''), family drivers (''drayber''/''tsuper''), laundrywomen (''labandera''/''tagalaba''), gardeners (''hardinero''), security guards (''guwardiya''/''bantay''), pool cleaners have been a norm in upper class Philippine society for an uncertain amount of time already, perhaps even connected to or influenced from the household slaves/servants in precolonial times of the Philippines that were divided into aliping namamahay and aliping saguiguilid, as indentured household servants. In modern times, it has been a norm among upper and upper-middle-class families in the Philippines to hire at least one maidservant-caretaker (''katulong''/''kasambahay/yaya'') to care for the household and children. Most, particularly maidservant-caretakers (''katulong''/''kasambahay/yaya''), live together in the house of their master's family with usually only a day off per month. This practice has eventually influenced the architecture of some houses or apartment condos where it has become a norm to section a room where domestic maidservants sleep as their personal room, usually near the kitchen or laundry area. Some wealthy families also section off an area or house where all the maidservants sleep or a part of the kitchen where they eat separate from the master's table. There are also employment agencies and special government laws regarding the regulation of domestic worker employment, such as the "Domestic Workers Act" or "Batas Kasambahay" i
Republic Act No 10361
Many live underpaid since many are informally hired or salaries are not declared truthfully to government offices or have an agreement instead to pay through other means, such as paying for their education, pension, or to send money back to their families. This practice was eventually exported to neighboring countries and all other countries that
overseas Filipino workers Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...
(OFWs) have worked in, such as the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
, and other countries in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, etc., hence some maidservants continue living with the same mindset of how domestic worker culture was practiced in the Philippines. This has also, at times, been used as a cause to look down upon overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the countries where they can be found. It has sometimes created controversies in other countries such as abuse charges in several countries in the Middle East or like the case of
Flor Contemplacion Flor Ramos Contemplacion (January 7, 1953 – March 17, 1995) was a Filipina domestic worker executed in Singapore for murder. Her execution severely strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines, and caused many Filipinos to ven ...
, who was executed in Singapore for murder allegations. There have also been documentaries or
rom-com Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
movies made in the Philippines about the plight or life of domestic workers, particularly maidservant-caretakers (''katulong''/''kasambahay''/''yaya'').


Singapore

Data from Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM), showed that in June 2019 there were some 255,800 Foreign Domestic Workers (FDW) in Singapore. The demand for Foreign Domestic Workers came about from the desire of the Singapore government to employ local women in the workforce. Starting with the Foreign Maid Scheme in 1978, Malaysia (with whom there were special immigration arrangements), Bangladesh, Burma, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand were recruiting grounds for domestic workers. Nearly 20% of Singapore household has a domestic worker which has been attributed to rising wealth, parents who both work as well as the ageing population. As of 2019, MOM require that employers of FDWs must purchase them medical insurance with a minimum coverage of S$15,000 per year.


Saudi Arabia

According to a 2008 report by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
(HRW), the Saudi Ministry of Labor provided official figures of 1.2 million household workers in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
including domestic workers, drivers, and gardeners. The report stated that the Gulf country employed nearly 1.5 million women domestic workers from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. Domestic workers estimated approximately 600,000 from Indonesia, 275,000 from Sri Lanka and 200,000 from Philippines. However, HRW reported that a number of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia face a range of abuses. Besides, the organization also interviewed Saudi labor and social affairs official, who acknowledged the issue of domestic worker abuse. The report stated that no accurate figure exists to highlight the total violations of labor rights and other human rights that women migrant domestic workers confront in the Arab nation.


South Africa

The domestic work sector occupies around 6 per cent of the total work force in South Africa, with domestic workers being largely Black African women. As in other countries, working conditions in the sector are generally characterised by informality and exploitation. In 2013, South Africa ratified ILO C189 Convention on Domestic Workers, recognising domestic work as work and formalising it through labour contracts, wages, social protection, health and safety in the workplace, and rights to organising as well as social dialogue. However, significant challenges remain with implementation. Furthermore, the minimum wage of domestic workers is set to 75 per cent of the national minimum wage.


United Kingdom

The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
s and
great house A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...
s employed many live-in domestic workers with distinctive roles and chain of command. The
lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
would hire a butler to oversee the servants.
Manorialism Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or " tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes for ...
dates back the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and slowly died out. The British
historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...
television series ''
Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'' portrayed these roles. The wealthy in the city would also have domestic workers, but fewer and with less distinctive roles. Domestic workers were mostly considered part of the lower class and some middle case. The
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. It was passed by Earl Grey's reforming administrat ...
ended domestic worker
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. In modern times,
migrant domestic workers Migrant domestic workers (also known as foreign home care workers, foreign domestic workers, foreign domestic helpers, transnational domestic workers, foreign domestic employees, overseas domestic workers and domestic migrant workers) are, acco ...
have been brought in to the UK to fill the demand for low-cost workers. Human rights groups has added that they are often prone to abuse.


United States


Black Americans post-Civil War to World War I

In the United States,
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
legally ended in 1865, however, the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
informed the former slaves now classified as freedmen and women that they could either sign labor contracts with white planters or be evicted from the land that they had lived on. Most freedmen in the South signed labor contracts with their former white slave owners because that was the only work experience they had. With limited skills and illiteracy, many men turned to become
sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...
, whereas the majority of women participated in domestic work. Not only were they not qualified for other jobs, but they were denied other jobs and segregated from American society purely based on the color of their skin. The South wanted to keep segregation alive and hence passed legislation such as the
Jim Crow Laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the S ...
post-Civil war which denied African Americans of legal equality and political rights. These laws kept many African Americans as a second-class status up until new laws ended segregation in the 1960s. Up until the mid-twentieth century, domestic work was a prominent source of income for many women of different ethnic backgrounds. Many of these women were either African American or immigrants. More specifically, the post-civil war South had a high concentration of African Americans working as domestic workers. At the turn of the nineteenth century, there was also a high concentration of African Americans working as domestic workers in the North. Many African American women migrated to the North for better work opportunities and higher wages compared to their employment options in the South. The African American women who worked as domestic workers were generally treated as poor, childlike beings that were seen as victims of their own ignorance of living in communities of crime and other societal infringements. However, despite the stereotypes labeled upon domestic workers, these women still settled for these positions because the only occupations that were open to African American women before World War I were domestic services. It was necessary they worked along with their husbands in order to keep their families financially supported. Frequently underpaid, African American servants commonly took food scraps and discarded clothing from their employers in a practice known as “
pan toting Pan toting, also known as the service pan, was the practice of African-American domestic workers taking dry goods or leftover table scraps from their white employers as a form of compensation that they deserved, due to the wealth they produced for ...
” or the “service pan”. The service pan augmented wages in almost two-thirds of the employers’ households in Athens, Georgia, in 1913. The pan system was used by employers to justify paying a lower wage,Sharpless, p. 154. and used by domestic workers to counter their employers’ dishonesty. Whites also pointed to the practice of pan toting as proof that “a Negro could not help but steal”, thereby reinforcing stereotypes of “black inferiority and dependency” and rationalizing racist paternalism.


Black Americans in the Great Depression

Due to the Great Depression, many domestic workers lost their jobs. This is because many white families lost their source of income and were not able to pay domestic workers to work in their home. At this time, many domestic workers relied on asking strangers on the street for housework such as cleaning. They house jumped, looking for any job that they could get. The domestic workforce was significantly impacted by the Great Depression which caused a decrease in their wages and an intolerable 18 hour workday. Also, agricultural workers and the African American women working as domestic workers at this time were explicitly excluded from
Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
and the
Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and " time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppr ...
in the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
legislation; domestic workers of all races were excluded from Social Security until 1950. (Household employees working at least two days a week for the same person were added to Social Security coverage in 1950, along with nonprofit workers and the self-employed. Hotel workers, laundry workers, all agricultural workers, and state and local government employees were added in 1954.) This is because the New Dealer politicians were more worried about losing support from the Southern Democrats in Congress who supported segregation rather than refusing coverage for many African Americans. Unlike their white counterparts, African Americans did not form labor unions because they lacked the resources, consciousness, and the access to networks used for union recruiting. On top of that, the domestic workers would not typically have earned enough money to be able to afford being a part of a union. Even if the African American domestic workers wanted to advance in society, it was nearly impossible because the racial structures in the United States rarely allowed them class mobility. However, domestic workers that were white such as the Irish and the Germans utilized working in middle-class homes to their advantage. Working in the middle-class homes served to Americanize, allowing the workers to identify more with their employers than women of their own class and instilled an aspiration to become middle-class status.


Black Americans in 1960s America

Nearly ninety percent of African American women worked as domestic workers during the Civil Rights Movement era. Their participation in the Civil Rights Movement went fairly undocumented. Despite their low-status career in the United States, they were beneficial for the betterment of society and the status of the African American race. It has been noted that the southern African American women were the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement. Since many white households relied on the African American domestic workers for housework, the workers were able to have a direct impact on the white race when rebelling for their civil rights. The African American domestic workers boycotted buses and tried to register to vote, and many were denied and imprisoned. However, the domestic workers utilized imprisonment to educate other African American women on the Civil Rights Movement and what to do to contribute. Additionally, the domestic workers frequently rebelled in an informal manner, such as resisting to live in the same home in which they worked. By doing this, the African American domestic workers transformed the domestic services, and collective organizations came about promoting a better work environment for African American domestic workers. Their act of rebellion gave way for a change of how they were treated, how they were paid, and how they were respected.


Varieties of domestic workers

The following is a list of known domestic workers: *
Au pair An au pair (; plural: au pairs) is a helper from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a mon ...
– A foreign-national domestic assistant working for and living as part of, a host family. *
Amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...
– A person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. * Ayah – A job that is similar to a nanny's. *
Babysitter Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides auton ...
– A worker who minds the children of someone else. * Bedder / bedmaker – A worker who rearranges and organizes bedding to prepare it for later use. *
Between maid A between maid (nickname tweeny, also called hall girl particularly in the United States) was a female junior domestic worker in a large household with many staff. The position became largely defunct in the 20th century, as few households needed ...
– An in-between maid whose duties are half in the reception rooms and half in the kitchen. *
Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, ...
– A worker who protects his employer. *
Boot boy A boot boy, often simply boots, was an English household servant. Usually a boy or young teenager, the boots was the lowest-ranking male servant; his main job was to clean, polish and care for the household members' boots and shoes, although he m ...
– A young male servant, employed mostly to perform footwear maintenance and minor auxiliary tasks. *
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantry ...
– A senior employee usually found in larger households, almost invariably a man, whose duties traditionally include overseeing the
wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system ...
, the
silverware Silverware may refer to: * Household silver including **Tableware **Cutlery **Candlesticks *The work of a silversmith * Silverware is also a slang term for a collection of trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievem ...
and some oversight of the other, usually male, servants. *
Casual staff Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...
- Part-time extra external worker. *
Chambermaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...
– A maid whose chief focus is on cleaning and maintaining bedrooms, ensuring fires are lit in fireplaces when needed, and supplying hot water. *
Charwoman A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...
(Char or Saturday's woman) – A female house or office cleaner, usually part-time. *
Chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to special ...
– A personal driver (for motor vehicles). *
Cleaner A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning ope ...
– A worker who cleans homes, institutions or commercial premises. *
Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...
– This is either a cook who works alone or the head of a team of cooks who work for their employer. *
Coachman A coachman is an employee who drives a coach or carriage, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of passengers. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full c ...
- Drives horse
carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping ...
and in charge of the
stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
. *
Dairymaid A milkmaid, milk maid, dairymaid, or dairywoman was a girl or woman who milked cows. She also used the milk to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter, and cheese. Many large houses employed milkmaids instead of having other staff do the wor ...
- Hand milked the animals, make butter and other
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
products. *
Dog walker Dog walking is the act of a person walking with a dog, typically from the dog's residence and then returning. Leashes are commonly used for this. Both owners and pets receive many benefits, including exercise and companionship. Description ...
– A worker who walks dogs. *
Footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
– A lower-ranking manservant. *
Game keeper A professional hunter (less frequently referred to as market or commercial hunter and regionally, especially in Britain and Ireland, as professional stalker or gamekeeper) is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional ...
- Care and maintaining the bird and deer population on a large estate. *
Gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppl ...
(Grounds keeper) – A worker who tends to the garden. *
Governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...
– A woman teacher for children. *
Groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...
– A worker who tends to the person's large property. * Hall boy – The lowest ranking male servant who is usually found only in large households. *
Handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, are both interior and exterior, and are so ...
– A worker who handles household repairs. *
Head Gardener A head gardener is an individual who manages all horticultural aspects of a property or garden, including staff and volunteers. The properties they manage include historic gardens and private estates, as well as amenity horticulture teams, for ex ...
in charge of all gardening. *
Gatekeeper A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...
- Job of guarding the main entrance to the estate. *
Horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...
– A worker who trains the horses for those who own them. * Houseboy – A worker who does personal chores. * Housekeeper – A housekeeper usually denotes a female senior employee. * Kitchen maid – A worker who works for the cook. *
Lackey Lackey may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Lackey, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Lackey, Mississippi, United States, an unincorporated community * Lackey, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Lackey Ridge, ...
– A runner who may be overworked and underpaid. * Lady's maid – A woman's personal attendant, helping her with her clothes, shoes, accessories, hair, and cosmetics. *
Lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
- Royal Lady's maid * Laundress – A laundry servant. *
Maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...
(
Housemaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maid ...
) – Female servants who perform typical domestic tasks. *
Majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...
– The senior-most staff member of a very large household or
stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
. See also
Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
. * Masseur/
Masseuse Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In E ...
– A servant who performs massages. *
Nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
(children's
Nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
) – A woman who takes care of infants and children. *
Nursemaid A nursemaid (or nursery maid) is a mostly historical term for a female domestic worker who cares for children within a large household. The term implies that she is an assistant to an older and more experienced employee, a role usually known as n ...
(Nursery maid) – A maid who oversees the nursery. *
Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...
or Tea boy - An Apprentice footman, 10 to 16 years old. *
Parlour maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time mai ...
- Cleaning the sitting rooms, drawing rooms, library and alike. * Personal shopper – A person who does the shopping. *
Personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...
– A worker who trains their employer in fitness, swimming, and sports. *
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
- Like a hall boy, but older with added building security duties. * Pool person – A worker who works by the swimming pool. * Postilion - Rode the left horse if there was no coachman. * Retainer (
Retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...
and Affinity) – A servant, especially one who has been with one family for a long time (chiefly British English). *
Scullery maid In great houses, scullery maids were the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female domestic servants and acted as assistant to a kitchen maid. Description The scullery maid reported (through the kitchen maid) to the cook or chef. Al ...
– The lowest-ranking of the domestic workers who act as assistants to the kitchen maid. * Stable boy or Groom – A worker who handles the management of the horses and the stables. *
Stable Master A stable master or head groom is the manager in charge of a stable. At large horse establishments there may be several grooms under the management of the stable master. In a professional establishment the head groom usually has complete responsibil ...
- Responsible for running the stables. * Storeroom maid - Maintaining the stores of linens, foodstuffs,
pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...
and household supplies. *
Valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...
– Known as the "gentleman's gentleman", a valet is responsible for the master's wardrobe and assisting him in dressing, shaving, etc. In the armed forces, some officers have a soldier (in the British army called a
batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
) for such duties. *
Wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...
– A nurse who provides suckling for infants if mothers cannot or do not wish to do so themselves. There are other
profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully '' professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted b ...
s that work and may live in the household, but are not considered domestic workers, as they would not be housed with the domestic staff. Professions like:
Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...
or Tutoress,
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
,
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
, private
chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intel ...
,
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...
, and
Lady's companion A lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who lived with a woman of rank or wealth as retainer. The term was in use in the United Kingdom from at least the 18th century to the mid-20th century but it is now archaic. The profession is known ...
.


Notable workers

Some domestic workers have become notable, including: Abdul Karim (the Munshi), servant of Queen Victoria of Great Britain; Paul Burrell, butler to Diana, Princess of Wales; Moa Martinson, author of proletarian literature, kitchen maid; Francis Barber became residual heir; and Charles Spence (bard), Charles Spence, Scottish poet, stonemason and footman.


Cultural depictions


In religion

* Zita, Saint Zita, the patron saint of domestic servants * :Canonised servants of the Romanov household


In fiction

* ''A Little Princess'', a book made into several films * ''Alfred Pennyworth'', Batman, Bruce Wayne's faithful butler, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger * ''Amelia Bedelia'', children's comedy fiction * ''Beryl's Lot'', a British television series based on Margaret Powell's memoirs of domestic service * ''Cinderella'', a fairytale, cartoon, and film * ''
Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'', a British television series set in a large
English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
* ''Edwin Jarvis'', the butler of Iron Man, Tony Stark * ''Gone with the Wind (novel), Gone with the Wind'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novel and Academy Award-winning Gone with the Wind (film), film * ''The Diary of a Chambermaid (novel), The Diary of a Chambermaid'', a novel by Octave Mirbeau * ''The Help'', a novel by Kathryn Stockett * ''The Remains of the Day'', Booker Prize–winning novel * ''Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), Upstairs, Downstairs'', a British television series set in London * ''Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), Upstairs Downstairs (remake)'', a British television series set in London * ''You Rang, M'Lord?'', a British television comedy series


In visual art

File:The Chocolate Girl by Jean-Étienne Liotard.jpg, ''The Chocolate Girl'', by Jean-Étienne Liotard (c. 1734–1744) File:Works Progress Administration maid poster.jpg, A poster of an American maid in uniform (ca. 1939) File:Heinrich Zille Wasserträgerin.jpg, ''Young water carrier'' drawing by Heinrich Zille (by 1929) File:William Henry Jackson-Colonial dining.jpg, ''Colonial dining'', William Henry Jackson (1895)


See also

* Servants' quarters * Handmaiden * Ancillae * Convention on Domestic Workers * Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights * Homemaking * Hooch maid * Housekeeping * Isabella Beeton ("Mrs Beeton") and ''The Book of Household Management'' *
Maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...
* Nanny tax * National Union of Domestic Employees * Reproductive labor * French maid * Geraldine Roberts


References


Further reading

* ''The Duties of Servants''; by a member of the aristocracy, author of 'Manners and Rules of Good Society'. London: F. Warne & Co., 1894 * ''A Few Rules for the Manners of Servants in Good Families''. Ladies' Sanitary Association, 1901 * ''The Servants' Practical Guide: a handbook of duties and rules''; by the author of 'Manners and Tone of Good Society'. London: Frederick Warne & Co., [1880] ** ''The Management of Servants: a practical guide to the routine of domestic service''; by the author of "Manners and Tone of Good Society." (the same work under a different title) * Dawes, Frank (1973) ''Not in Front of the Servants: domestic service in England 1850–1939''. London: Wayland * Evans, Siân (2011) ''Life below Stairs in the Victorian and Edwardian Country House''. National Trust Books ** --do.--"Yells, Bells and Smells ... from royal visits ... to the case of the cook and the freezer", in: ''National Trust Magazine''; Autumn 2011, pp. 70–73 *Horn, Pamela (1990 [1975]) ''The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Servant''. Stroud: Sutton Publishing *Maloney, Alison (2011) ''Life Below Stairs: true lives of Edwardian servants''. London: Michael O'Mara ISBN 9781782434351 (pbk. 2015) * Musson, Jeremy (2009) ''Up and Down Stairs: the history of the country house servant''. London: John Murray * * * Sinha; Varma; Jha (2019) ''Servants' Pasts: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century, South Asia, Vol. 1''. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan *


External links


International Domestic Workers Network

List of digitized books on domestic workers in German, English, and other languages
at de.wikisource * ILO resources on domestic workers: *

([http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_157836.pdf PDF])
Decent work for domestic workers, Report IV(1) (2010)

Amnesty International paper on the abuse of domestic workers in the Middle East


* [http://www.cawinfo.org/?p=659 An international campaign for domestic workers' labour rights]
A Research Project entitled "Servants Pasts" which traces domestic service historically

Human Rights Watch article about migrant domestic workers

Interview with an Indonesian domestic worker in Singapore
Clip from documentary film 'At Your Service' (2010, director Jorge Leon) {{Authority control Cleaning and maintenance occupations Labour law Domestic workers,