‘I Know It Sounds Nasty and Stereotyped’: Searching for the Competent Domestic Worker

an article by Manuel Abrantes (University of Lisbon, Portugal) published in Gender, Work & Organization Volume 21 Issue 5 (September 2014)

Abstract

The recent upsurge of commercial companies in the market of domestic services has drawn attention in various countries. However, little is known about the operation of these companies and the extent to which their endeavours to industrialize paid domestic work reproduce or break away from historical patterns of gender inequality.

In this article, the theoretical debate is informed by empirical data collected in the city area of Lisbon, in Portugal. In particular, open-ended interviews with the managers of 15 companies provide a privileged view over the practices of recruitment and selection. Multiple sources of segmentation are associated with gendered understandings of class and ethnicity.

Far from a paradigm in which stimuli toward industrialization and professionalization would overthrow the traditional centrality of trust and personal bonds in domestic service relationships, managers seek to gain a competitive advantage over rival companies and the informal economy precisely by mastering the trade of trust and personal bonds.

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