Bananas, Beaches And Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics

In the 21st century, domestic workers represent a major employment category: Of 53 million such workers worldwide, 83% are women. Thousands migrate to perform this work. Activists, who are domestic workers, are building transnational alliances to ensure the recognition of their rights. These workers are often abused. Enloe cites the example of a Filipino woman who signed a contract to become a domestic worker in Qatar. However, her employer paid her below the contractual amount, fed her a single meal of leftovers each day, gave her no time off, and required her to clean three homes. Unable to quit, she escaped to the Overseas Labor Office in Doha, where 56 other Filipino workers were taking refuge. Clearly, such abuse was commonplace. International politics shape the lives of domestic workers and are, in turn, shaped by them and those who enable this work.

In the 19th century, single, middle-class women in Great Britain with no marriage prospects were encouraged to emigrate to colonial possessions and serve as governesses and nannies, which were considered respectable positions. Domestic servants were in demand in these locations. By 2010, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that 43.6 million women worked in private homes as domestics. Among the world’s most vulnerable workers, these women often find their rights ignored.