DOMESTIC
SERVICE, HEALTH AND CULTURE
Domestic service (housework and care-giving for compensation), while
evolving in form, continues to exist and is even increasing in some
regions, as more women enter the workforce; unskilled workers migrate
to urban areas in search of employment, room and board; the number
of elderly people grows; and employing domestic servants is increasingly
equated with socio-economic status. Domestic servants are challenged
to maintain and promote their own health, frequently in extremely
marginalized and abusive conditions. Additionally, they are often
responsible for the health of others, including their natal family,
their own partners and children, and their employers’ households.
They may participate in the household production of (ill)health
by engaging in food purchasing, preparation, and storage; water
hygiene; cleanliness of the home and clothing; waste disposal; care
and nurturing of children and adults; and responding to health-related
emergencies. I contend that this involvement may make them ideal
foci of health education resources and efforts. In addition to the
servant-health interface, my related areas of inquiry include how
development (economic growth and modernization) influences and is
influenced by domestic service, and the role of discourses about
domestic servants’ sexuality in health and development. These
issues spark questions about the relationship between domestic workers
and the state, the (re)construction of gender roles, employer-employee
relations, globalization, migration, and modernization.
Publication
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Publications authored by Namino Glantz
“Moving maids: Dynamics of domestic service and development.”
Glantz NM. In: Política y Cultura 23: 82-102. 2005.
Presentation
“Domestic servants, development, and health.”
Glantz N. Working Group on Gender, Reproductive Health and Population
Policies (GRHPP) Global Meeting, Cape Town, South Africa, 2002.
Manuscripts Not Yet Published
“Domestic servants as household health care workers: A key
target group for health education intervention?”
Glantz N. Grant proposal for research based in Comitán, Chiapas,
Mexico. 2002.
“Development and domestic workers’ sexuality.”
Glantz N. Tucson: University of Arizona. 26 pages. 2002. |
