Working and Living Conditions of Women Migrant Domestic Workers in Istanbul during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In the context of increasing international migration, the destructive force of the pandemic has been evident in the closure of borders and disruptions to travel plans, affecting millions of migrants worldwide. The economic and social consequences have deeply impacted vulnerable social groups such as women, migrants and precarious workers, further intensifying the ‘care crisis’. Women migrant domestic workers, constituting a significant proportion of international migrant workers, have found themselves particularly vulnerable while grappling with challenges such as health risks and economic and social impacts. In this context, this study explores the multifaceted impact of COVID-19 on the working and living conditions of women migrant domestic workers. The methodology employed a qualitative approach, with insights derived from in-depth interviews with 12 migrant domestic workers in Istanbul. The findings confirm precarious conditions and highlight deepening issues related to COVID-19. This reveals that their already precarious situation, characterized by low wages, job insecurity and inadequate access to protective equipment and health services, has been exacerbated by the pandemic. This article emphasizes the need to address the broader care crisis intensified by the pandemic.

Keywords

• Crisis of Care
• COVID-19
• Migrant Domestic Workers
• Pandemic
• Women

Supporting Institution

This study was funded by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Istanbul University. Project number: SBA-2022-38534

Project Number

SBA-2022-38534

Ethical Statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning this article's research, authorship, and/or publication.

Thanks

We sincerely thank Beyzanur Bolat (B.A., Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Istanbul University) for assisting with transcription.

References

1. Acciari, L. Britez, J. Morales Perez, A. (2021). Right to health right to live: domestic workers facing the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America. Gender & Development, 29(1), 11-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2021.1885213 google scholar
2. Akalın, A. (2007). Hired as a caregiver, demanded as a housewife: becoming a migrant domestic worker in Turkey. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 14(3), 209-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506807079011 google scholar
3. Anderson, B. (2007). A very private business: exploring the demand for migrant domestic workers. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 14(3), 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506807079013 google scholar
4. Blumenstock, J., Chi, G., & Tan, X. (2022). Migration and the value of social networks. G2LM|LIC Working Paper No. 60. https://g2lm-lic.iza.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/G2lmlic-wp060.pdf google scholar
5. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa google scholar
6. Chatzidakis, A., Hakim, J., Littler, J., Rottenberg, C., & Segal, L. (2020). The care manifesto: the politics of interdependence. Verso Books, London. google scholar
7. Christou, A., & Koffman, E. (2022). Gender and migration: IMISCOE short reader. Springer, Cham. google scholar
8. Donato, K., & Gabaccia, D. (2015). Gender and international migration. Russell Sage Foundation, New York. google scholar

9. Ehrenreich, B., & Hochschild, A. R. (2003). Global woman: nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy. A Metropolitan/Owl Book, New York. google scholar
10. Ev İşçileri Dayanışma Sendikası (EVID-SEN). (2020). Ev işçileri dayanışma sendikası şiddet ve korona dönemi çalışma ilişkileri raporu: toz bezi değiliz ev işçisiyiz. (Ceyhun Güler & Gülhan Benli). https://dspace.ceid.org.tr/xmlui/handle/1/1081 google scholar
11. Fong, E., & Yeoh, B. S.A. (2020). Migrant domestic workers: disadvantaged work, social support, and collective strategies in East Asia. American Behavioral Scientist, 64(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764220910235 google scholar
12. Guadagno, L. (2020). Migrants and the COVID-19 pandemic: an initial analysis. Migration Research Series No. 60. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva. google scholar
13. International Organization for Migration (IOM). (2022). World migration report. https://publications.iom.int/books/world-migration-report-2022 google scholar
14. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2011). Decent work for domestic workers. https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc//ilo/2011/111B09_369_engl.pdf google scholar
15. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2018). Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work. https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_633135/lang-en/index.htm google scholar
16. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2020a). Beyond contagion or starvation: giving domestic workers another way forward. https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/domestic-workers/publications/factsheets/WCMS_743542/lang-en/index.htm google scholar
17. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2020b). Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic situation in Uzbekistan: income, labour market and access to social protection. Overview of crisis measures and ways to improve state policy. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—europe/—ro-geneva/—sro-moscow/documents/publication/wcms_759842.pdf google scholar
18. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2021a). ILO global estimates on international migrant workers: results and methodology. https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/publications/WCMS_808935/lang-en/index.htm google scholar
19. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2021b). Ev işçiliğinin Türkiye’deki görünümü: kapsam, boyut ve sorunlar. (Ceyhun Güler). https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—europe/—ro-geneva/—ilo-ankara/documents/publication/wcms_803900.pdf google scholar
20. International Labor Organization (ILO). (2022). Making the right to social security a reality for domestic workers: a global review of policy trends, statistics and extension strategies. https://www.ilo.org/secsoc/information-resources/publications-and-tools/books-and-reports/WCMS_848270/lang-en/index.htm google scholar
21. Kabeer, N., Razavi, S., & van der Meulen Rodgers, Y. (2021). Feminist economic perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic. Feminist Economics, 27(1-2), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2021.1876906 google scholar
22. Kaur-Gill, S., Qin-Liang, Y., & Hassan, S. (2021). Negotiating mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: performing migrant domestic work in contentious conditions. American Behavioral Scientist, 65(10), 1406-1425. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211000394 google scholar
23. Kluge, H. H. P., Jakb, Z., Bartovic, J., D’Anna, V., & Severoni, S. (2020). Refugee and migrant health in the COVID-19 response. Lancet. 395(10232), 1237-1239. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30791-1 google scholar
24. Liem, A., Wang, C., Wariyanti, Y., Latkin, C. A., & Hall, B. J. (2020). The neglected health of international migrant workers in the COVID-19 epidemic. The Lancet, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30076-6 google scholar
25. Lui, I. D., Vandan, N., Davies, S. E. Harman, S., Morgan, R., Smith, J., Wenham, C., & Grepin, K. A. (2021). “We also deserve help during the pandemic”: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. Journal of Migration and Health, 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmh.2021.100037 google scholar
26. Maulik, M., & Petrozziello, A. J. (2016). Gender on the move. Working on the migration-development nexus from a gender perspective. UN Women Training Centre: Santo Domingo. google scholar
27. Ohndorf W. (1989). Social effects of migration in receiving countries. International Migration, 27(2), 209-216. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.1989.tb00251.x google scholar
28. Onuki, H. (2011). The global migration of care labour: Filipino workers in Japan. In R. Mahon & F. Robinson (Eds.), Feminist ethics and social policy: towards a new global political economy of care (pp. 60-74). UBC Press, Vancouver. google scholar
29. Pandey K, Parrenas R.S., & Sabio G.S. (2021). Essential and expendable: migrant domestic workers and the COVID-19 pandemic. American Behavioral Scientist, 65(10), 1287-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211000396 google scholar
30. Papademetriou, D. G. (1978). European labor migration: consequences for the countries of worker origin. International Studies Quarterly, 22(3), 377-408. https://doi.org/10.2307/2600321 google scholar
31. Rodriguez, R. M. (2010). Migrants for export: how the Philippine state brokers labor to the world. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. google scholar
32. Romero, M. (2018). Reflections on globalized care chains and migrant women workers. Critical Sociology, 44(7-8), 1179-1189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920517748497 google scholar
33. Sassen, S. (2000). Women’s burden: Counter-geographies of globalization and the feminization of survival. Journal of International Affairs, 53(2), 503-524. google scholar
34. Schweitzer, Y. (2022). Turkmenistan’s problematic COVID response and its impacts. https://www.geopolitica.info/turkmenistan-problematic-covid-response-and-its-iimpacts/ google scholar
35. Sumalatha, B. S., Bhat, L. D., & Chitra, K. P. (2021). Impact of Covid-19 on Informal Sector: A Study of Women Domestic Workers in India. The Indian Economic Journal, 69(3), 441-461. https://doi.org/10.1177/00194662211023845 google scholar
36. Toksöz, G., & Ünlütürk Ulutaş, Ç. (2012). Is migration feminized? A gender-and ethnicity-based rewiew of the literature on irregular migration to Turkey. In S. Paçacı Elitok & T. Straubhaar (Eds.), Turkey, migration and the EU: potentials, challenges and opportunities (pp. 85-113). Hamburg University Press, Hamburg. google scholar
37. Toksöz, G. (2021). Emanet emek: göç yollarında kadınlar. Dipnot Yayınları, Ankara. google scholar
38. Uğur, S. & Yanık, E. C. (2016). Ev hizmetlerinde göçmenlerin istihdamına yönelik sorunlarının değerlendirilmesi. Çalışma İlişkileri Dergisi, 7(2), 65-77. google scholar
39. United Nations (UN), Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. (2020). International Migration 2020 Highlights. https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/undesa_pd_2020_international_migration_highlights.pdf google scholar
40. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2020a). Gender gaps in the care economy during Covid-19 pandemic in Turkey. https://www.undp.org/turkiye/publications/gender-gaps-care-economy-during-covid-19-pandemic-turkey google scholar
41. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2020b). COVID-19 and Central Asia: Socio-economic impacts and key policy considerations for recovery. https://www.undp.org/eurasia/publications/covid-19-and-central-asia-socio-economic-impacts-and-key-policy-considerations-recovery google scholar
42. Ünlütürk Ulutaş, Ç. (2009). Evin içi işyeri: ev hizmetleri, ücretli emek ve göçmen kadın emeği. In S. Dedeoğlu & M. Yaman Öztürk (Eds.), Kapitalizm, ataerkillik ve kadın emeği: Türkiye örneği (pp. 277-300). Sosyal Araştırmalar Vakfı (SAV) Yayınları, Istanbul. google scholar
43. Yeates, N. (2005). A global political economy of care. Social Policy and Society, 4, 227-234. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746404002350 google scholar
44. Yeung, N. C. Y., Huang, B., Lau, C. Y. K., & Lau, J. T. F. (2020). Feeling Anxious amid the COVID-19 pandemic: psychosocial correlates of anxiety symptoms among Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218102 google scholar